Company Matters
by Brainlock
Summary: There were others at Coyote Sands. Others who became part of The Company. Were they always meant to be, or were they manipulated into being? A few surprise guests and one mystery XO.
1. 1960 The Bronx Kid

HEROES: The Bronx Kid

Characters: Maury, OC, and a familiar face or two

Disclaimer: I own nothing. HEROES characters intellectual property of Tim Kring.

-

**Bronx, New York City - late October, 1960**

Young Maury Parkman had been caught several times before, hustling unsuspecting passersby in his native Bronx for spending cash. This time seemed different. He was doing his usual Three Card Monty scam on a pair of well-dressed gentlemen when Sgt. Matthews strolled by.

Maury eyed him warily as the officer let him finish the game, so he could bust the teen once more. Maury had already developed his telepathy so he knew what Matthews was up to, which, unfortunately, left him distracted enough to let the two men win their latest hand, which he already planned on when he spotted the cop.

"Sorry, kid," one said. "Looks like I keep my money, today."

"Yeah, looks like," Maury replied, trying to keep civil as Matthews approached.

"What'cha doin', buddy?" the sergeant asked casually, not paying much attention to the two men. He put his hand on the teen's shoulder.

"Lemme alone, Matthews," Maury snarled, shrugging him off.

The second man spoke up. "This copper givin' you trouble, kid?"

Maury and Matthews both jerked their attention to the man for different reasons. The officer because of the menace in the man's tone, the young telepath for what the man was thinking he would do to any cop that got in his way. Both knew these were "made men" and things could get dicey.

"Hey, buddy, I'm just lookin' out for the kid," Matthews explained. "Nothin' wrong with that, is there?"

The first man spoke this time. "I dunno, pops, we could use a kid with his...gumption, y'know?"

"He's not interested," Matthews replied sternly. "Leave him be."

"Don't you think the kid should decide?" the man retorted.

"Leave us alone!" Maury shouted, pushing the thought into the two men's heads.

The pair looked stunned for a second, looked at each other, then walked away.

Matthews tightened his grip on Maury's shoulder. "Lucky break, kid," he said. "I warned you before not to mess with guys like that, you'll wind up in trouble," he informed the teen, "or worse."

"I can take care of myself!" Maury protested, jerking away.

"Maury, please," Matthews protested. "You know I told your mother I'd keep an eye on you. Keep you out of trouble. Try to, at least," he corrected himself.

"Then leave me alone so I can make some money for our rent!" he growled in reply.

"Are things that bad, Maury?"

"Lemme alone, you don't know what it's like!" he argued.

Matthews grabbed Maury by the shoulder again and led him to his squad car, all but forcing Maury into the passenger seat. When he sat down behind the wheel, he gripped it for a minute as Maury sat, sulking.

"Look, I know times have been hard since your dad--"

"Don't talk about my dad!" Maury shouted.

"I knew him before your mother did, kid," he replied calmly. "You know he'd be _farklempt_ if he saw you acting like this, much less hustling cards on the street."

"Gotta make money somehow," he snarled.

"Then stay in school, get a part time job to help your mother out," Matthews implored him. "If you want, I can--"

"You can leave me alone!" Maury yelled and jumped out of the man's car.

Ben Matthews sighed as he watched the teen storm down the sidewalk, hopefully headed home. He decided he would check in on Maury and his mother Maeve after his shift. It was almost eight o'clock before he got to the small apartment she shared with her son.

"Ben?" she sighed upon seeing him still in his uniform. "What did Maury get in trouble for this time?"

"He's not home, yet?" he asked as she let him in, ushering him to the kitchenette.

"No, he's out until all hours of late. Ever since--you know," she said.

Ben nodded grimly. "I ran into him this afternoon, probably saved him from some goombas. I thought he would come home after, but--?"

Maeve Parkman sighed again. "No, I haven't seen him since this morning when he left."

"Are things okay?" Ben asked. "I mean, with money and all? He was hustling cards again."

"We're getting by, Ben, thanks for asking," she replied.

"I told Abe I would keep an eye on you two, and I intend to keep that boy out of trouble for both our sakes, but--" he tossed his hands up in frustration.

"He's too proud and stubborn and angry to want your help, I know," she finished. "Abe was the same way. Lord knows we had to be that way, what with the scandal of our marrying and all!" she laughed. It felt good to laugh once again, she thought.

"Heavens forbid the son of a Rabbi and an Irish Catholic shiksa should marry!" he joked, and both laughed.

When they had calmed down, he asked in serious tones. "Do you want me to call that place? I mean, they think they can help or cure him of--you know?"

"Abe could do the same thing, Ben, you know that," she replied. "If he's not having trouble, and it keeps him out of trouble, then why bother?"

"It's not safe out there, any more, Maeve, you know that. Trust me, I'm walking the beat everyday and it's not getting any better. If that's his only chance of getting out of here--"

"I won't send my only son away to be...'cured', Benjamin, and that's final," she scolded him. Upon seeing his hurt expression, she laid her hand on his. "I do thank you for worrying, but you have a family of your own to look out for."

"You _are_ family, Maeve," Ben told her, putting his free hand on top of hers. "Abe, you, Matt, you're my family as much as my own flesh and blood."

"You're too sweet, Ben," she said. He blushed.

Before they could say anything more, Maury burst in and saw the two sitting there, hands entwined. He gave the pair a dirty look and immediately stormed back out.

Maeve and Ben both started after him.

"Maury, wait!" she called as he stomped away.

"I'll go after him, Maeve, talk to him," Ben told her racing after the angry teen.

He caught up to Maury a block down the street. The teen had been crying and dropped down on someone's front steps, lacking any place else to go.

"It's not what you think, kiddo," Ben consoled him.

Maury glared up at the man through his tears.

Ben dropped down beside the teen. "I stopped by to see if you were okay, we were just talking." After a moment's silence, he whispered, "I know what you can do. See for yourself, Maury."

Maury's head jerked up in surprise. "What? How?"

Ben smiled. "Your dad could do it, too. Not a lot of secrets between your dad and me, kid."

Maury hung his head. "I'm a freak."

Ben put his arm around the teen. "No, no you're not. You're not a freak, and neither was your father," he comforted. "You're special. That's a good thing, kiddo. Not many get to be special in this world."

Maury smirked, then jerked his head up, his face gone white. "Get down!"

Ben barely had time to respond before he saw the car slow down and a gun barrel pointed at them. Maury had already dove for cover behind the parked car in front of them. Ben moved to follow when he heard a double clap of thunder, a buzzing by his ear and then a searing pain in his left shoulder. He rolled over Maury to shield the teen from any more bullets, and hit his head on the streetlight post.

Maury heard the tires screech as the car pulled away. "NO!" he screamed as he rose to see the car turn the corner. He reached out with his mind and two more thunderclaps rang out as the car disappeared around the corner. A metal crunch could be heard immediately after as the car careened into another around the corner.

The third man in the car quietly slipped out before anyone saw him. He cautiously made his way to an alley and doubled back to see who had caused the driver and gunman to suddenly decide to shoot each other. He saw the husky teen crying over the fallen police officer. He ran a hand through his blond hair and decided to inquire of his police contacts later who was shot and confirm who he was with. After all, he had encountered many powerful people in his long life, this one could prove useful to him for a few years.

Maury didn't hear the neighbors' shouts as the noise drew attention. He had knelt back down over the still, bleeding body of his father's friend. "No. no-no-no-NO!" he cried, pounding the man's chest. "You can't leave me, too!" he cried. He bent over, hugging the man's chest and whimpered, "No, dad, don't leave me!"

Ben regained consciousness for a moment and heard this last comment. "Ain't yer dad, kid. 'm not done, yet," he mumbled before blacking out.

Sirens soon cut the night as the neighbors had called for help when they saw it was a police officer who had been shot. Maury wouldn't leave his side until he was forced to at the hospital's surgery ward.

-

Ben woke up to light streaming in the window and a woman in white hovering over him. "Whur'm I?" he grunted as he blinked his eyes to adjust to the bright light. "M'ry?"

"In the hospital, Mr. Matthews," she answered. "About time you woke up, the doctor was getting worried," she said before nodding her head towards the other side of the bed. "Among others."

Ben didn't catch the nod, but asked in his raspy voice, "how long?"

"You came in two nights ago, gunshot wound to the left shoulder, shattered your collar bone, and a concussion."

"Ouch." He said, then winced as real pain shot through his shoulder, confirming the damage there.

"Your son hasn't even left your side," she pointed to the teen sleeping in a chair on the other side of his bed before leaving the pair alone.

"Son?" he asked in confusion and slowly turned to see Maury, now woken by the conversation. "Hey, kiddo. Shouldn't you be in school?"

"'s Saturday," he mumbled, still half-asleep.

"Temple then?"

Maury frowned.

Ben Matthews studied the teen for a minute. "You okay?"

Maury looked away and shrugged.

Ben sighed. "I remember your mom and I were talking before," he began. "Your dad had heard about this place out west. They claim they can help people like you."

"I'm not leaving mom," he said defiantly.

"I'll look after your mother, kid," he said. "It's not safe around here any more. You could have been killed."

Maury returned his gaze. "You could have been."

"I wasn't," he said. "Because of you, I wasn't."

Maury fought a smile, but Ben caught his lip twitching.

"Don't stay here, wasting your life away, kiddo," Ben implored him. "This is your chance to get out, make something of yourself. Do some good in the world with your, you know, talents."

"Don't wanna," he grumbled.

"All the more reason to get out, Maury." He grabbed the teen's hand resting by his. "Do something with your life. Make your dad proud."

Maury rolled his eyes.

"Listen to your Uncle Ben, kiddo," he implored. "You have a powerful ability, and with it comes a powerful _responsibility_. Not just to yourself, but to those around you. You know this, and you know what you have to do."

-

**Early January, 1961**

Maury Parkman boarded the Greyhound bus headed west. He still wasn't sure where he was going. He didn't feel like talking to anyone and sat towards the back without thinking. Ben had invited his mother, Maeve, to stay with his family for the time being, so Maury wouldn't worry while he was gone.

A young black man had followed him on the bus, getting a stern look from the driver. He nodded and made his way to the rear as well. He saw the white teen sitting alone, further back than he should have been. "Want some company?" he asked.

"Not really," Maury mumbled back.

The black man glanced up and saw the driver watching him in the mirror. He decided to sit by this sullen teen, to avoid being thrown off. "Hope you don't mind mine, then," he said, settling down in the empty seat.

Maury barely gave him a passing glance. There was a blond man standing outside the bus, watching it. Watching..._him_?

"My name is Charles. I'm from Harlem. Where are you headed?"

"Maury, from the Bronx," he replied sullenly. "Not sure, really, someplace out west. It's called 'Coyote Sands'."

"What a coincidence, so am I," he grinned.

Maury finally turned to face the slightly older man and looked into his warm, smiling face and kind eyes. _Maybe this trip won't be so bad after all_, he thought to himself.

"Maybe it won't at that," Charles replied with a wink. "After all, it's a new year, a new decade, even a new President. Time all around for new beginnings all around, don't you think?"

Tbc____________


	2. 1961 Coyote Sands

HEROES: 1961

Characters: Maury, Charles, Linderman, Angela, Alice, Chandra, OCs

Disclaimer: I own nothing. HEROES characters intellectual property of Tim Kring.

-

**Coyote Sands - January, 1961**

Maury Parkman and Charles Deveaux bonded over the nearly three day ride to their destination. They managed to learn a few limits to their shared telepathy. They couldn't read each other at the same time, but learned to communicate by taking turns 'talking'.

When they arrived, they were greeted by an Indian doctor, Chandra Suresh from Bombay, and given a quick tour of the grounds before learning they were to have separate cabins. Charles was sent to one cabin with two other new arrivals, Daniel Linderman and Bobby Bishop, while Maury was sent to another with a young Japanese man named Toshiro "George" Masahashi and a portly kid with glasses who went by the name of Frankie Davis.

Dr. Suresh let the new arrivals get settled before calling them to dinner and a quick overview of what they planned to do at the camp: various testing of any abilities the people showed, including medical check-ups and psychological profiles.

When the arrivals were allowed to go back to their cabins, they finally got to talk and show off their various abilities. Maury and Charles kept each other informed of the goings on in their respective cabins. Charles let Maury know that Daniel was a healer, while Bobby was an alchemist. Maury let Charles know that Frankie was telekinetic, while Toshiro aka George could generate mild electrical currents.

That was just the new kids, there were already a dozen young men in the two cabins, not counting the girl's cabin or the various adult cabins on the compound. Some of the kids' parents had come along, some with powers, some without.

It seemed there was no obvious connection everyone shared. The assembled group were from all over the States, and George and his father were originally from Japan. George even explained the difference between his Japanese-born Nisei parents, and his own American-born Issei status. Even Daniel Linderman admitted his parents immigrated to Denver after the war, explaining his British accent.

Several weeks had passed and only a few new people had joined them at "Crapola Sands", as Daniel had begun calling it, entirely dissatisfied with the accommodations, despite admitting it was better than anything he had had since he had run away from home.

Maury ingratiated himself by teaching several others to play cards, which caught the attention of more than a couple soldiers. They quickly found themselves losing to the young telepath (as well as Daniel), who denied he was cheating or tricking them. A couple took great offense at being swindled out of their money, which didn't ease some of the more tense base populace.

That was when the girls arrived. It had been a day like any other, but the news that a small group had several among them excited to see who could do what, Specials and administrators alike.

No sooner than they had been shown to their quarters than several of the kids made their own welcome wagons. Charles saw that two new girls had been shown to one of the empty cabins and he, Daniel, and Bobby went to greet them. Charles later reported to Maury about the new sisters, who were reluctant to show off what they could do. It wasn't until the following night that Maury was able to meet the new girls for himself.

While the younger crowd were watching the movie that night, Charles pointed her out to Maury in the crowd. Maury was trying to pay attention to the movie, Disney's Snow White, when he laid eyes on what he considered the cartoon heroine made real, Angela Shaw. Charles could tell he was smitten from first sight. He briefly wondered if she had some kind of pheromone or empathic seductive ability, with Bobby, himself, and now Maury taken with her young beauty.

Unfortunately, Daniel wasn't in the mood for "a kid's cartoon" that night, and caused enough of a ruckus to get their foursome, including Bobby, sent back to their cabins for the night. Daniel laughed the whole way back, much to his friends' chagrin.

The next few weeks were back to the usual pace, with the younger kids being tutored by base personnel and others being tested randomly throughout by various means.

Then Angela told Charles there was trouble brewing. He made an escape plan and urged Maury to come along, but he hesitated, wanting to stay and please the wishes of his mother and "uncle" back East.

The afternoon Charles planned to leave, he came to Maury in his cabin and implored him to join them one more time. "We won't be gone long, just to notify some authorities things aren't what they seem, here," Charles told him.

"I can't Charles," Maury replied. "I promised Ben I would stay. Learn how to help people with my ability."

"There's nothing to worry about, we'll only be gone a few hours," Charles repeated.

Maury sat on his bunk, arms crossed over his knees. "I can't, Charles," he said, hanging his head.

Charles sighed. "If that's the way you feel, can you at least keep a lookout for us so we can sneak back in?"

Maury nodded. "Yeah. Good luck, Charles."

"Thanks," he replied. "I don't think we'll need it, but thanks." They shook hands and Charles left.

Within hours, hell had broken out. A storm had suddenly appeared over the base, and Maury had been woken and unnerved by it's suddenness. It wasn't until he heard the shots that he panicked. He reached out to his cabin mates, but with everyone in a mass of confusion, it was hard to tell one person from another.

Then he made brief contact with Frankie, who told Maury he had sent his baseball flying around, distracting the soldiers from firing on more people. When Frankie's thoughts suddenly went dark, Maury knew he was in real trouble.

Forcing himself to stay calm, he slipped out of his cabin and underneath it, realizing it was better to stay hidden. He managed to locate George and mentally called out to him to join him under the cabins. He sent out a general urge not to have others look under the cabins for their safety. Then, through the blowing sand, he saw her shadow moving a few cabins down.

Maury and George managed to sneak down to the girl, who Maury now recognized as Angela's sister. She kept crying for her "banana", and Maury was barely able to understand that was Angela's nickname. He finally got her to quiet down enough to keep her from betraying their position as well as calming the storm. The soldiers seemed to have settled down and were no longer firing at everything that moved in the night. Maury put the thought into their heads that the 'storm bringer' had perished, which is why the weather was beginning to settle.

Maury knew it had been a massacre, and pushed into the girl to sleep for now. He hated to do it, but their mutual survival was at stake. He and George lay there for several hours, hiding, before they saw an opportunity to leave. One soldier had been asked to escort Dr. Suresh from the grounds and Maury made them ignore the young trio stowing away in the back of the enclosed jeep.

No sooner had they gotten off base than the soldier looked in the mirror and right at Maury. He again pushed the idea to ignore them into the soldier's mind, but the man started laughing.

"You really are new to all of this, aren't you, my young friend?" he asked.

Maury was dumbfounded. "Why don't my powers work on you?" he asked.

"You're not the first telepath I've encountered in my travels," he replied. "I've learned to block certain tricks that you all seem to find easy. Making me think something is the easiest after mind reading, by the way."

"Who-who are you?" Maury asked as they drove along, glancing at the oblivious Chandra Suresh.

The man smiled. "I've been known by many names," he said. "You can call me Adam. Adam...Monroe."

Maury noticed his hesitancy, but couldn't read the man to see if he was telling the truth or not.

"Are you going to turn us in?" George asked.

"To who?" Adam replied. "Those soldiers? No, I think not."

"There are others," Maury blurted out. "There's a group that snuck out last night. They wanted to tell local authorities that things weren't right back there!"

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And do you know where they went?"

"I can try," Maury replied and concentrated on Charles. _Where are you? _he probed, but received no reply. He kept trying until his nose bled. At this point, Adam decided he should take a break as they were nearing town.

"I have, shall we say, 'orders' to make sure this man is delivered safely," he explained cautiously. "If I give you some money for a hotel for a few days will you be alright until I come back for you?"

Maury and George talked it over a minute before agreeing.

"I'll pose as your father, Maury, and rent the room. You kids stay out of sight until I come get you, is that understood?" The two boys nodded and soon found themselves watching over the still sleeping Alice Shaw in a motel.

"Just one thing before I leave, Maury," he asked. "If you can read minds and force people to do your bidding, what about erasing them?"

"_Erase_ minds?" he asked. "I-I wouldn't know how."

"It's actually fairly easy," Adam said and began to explain how other telepaths had explained it to him. "Now, I need you to erase just the last year, all his time he spent at Coyote Sands and anything that could endanger the special people like ourselves. I know it may be tricky, but try not to delve too much further than that."

Maury did as he was told, and was left exhausted from the experience. George was left to tend to both teens once Adam left. The next morning, the boys were woken by Alice's screams of anguish.

"I told Banana I would wait for her!" she cried. "She'll never find me here!"

Maury and George kept trying to explain the danger, but she wouldn't listen. A storm brewed ominously outside as near hurricane force winds began tearing once more through the tiny town. The storm sirens blared again.

They finally had no choice but to let her go. Maury got one last push into her head that she should avoid everyone until Angela, Charles, or himself came for her. He would never realize she would follow that instruction for almost five decades.

It was the day after Alice left that Maury was finally able to contact Charles telepathically and tell him where they were. The group reunited within hours with the exception of Alice. They never heard from her again, and Charles would later tell him Angela believed she perished that night. Since they were unable to locate her on a return trip to Coyote Sands a few days later, she had assumed the worst.

Charles and Angela let Maury in on their plan, and Maury told them about the mysterious Adam, but he never returned to Coyote Sands that they knew of. Maury wondered if it was because he had erased Dr. Suresh's memory and Adam had taken the blame for that, but he didn't even tell Charles this.

Desperate for money, Bobby had turned a handful of small rocks into gold, which they then were able to cash in, claiming they panhandled the rocks. At this point, George had insisted on returning to his family in Japan, so the group pooled their talents to send him home, leaving the five young people on their own.

Spurred on by Bobby's alchemy and Maury and Daniel's card playing, the troupe headed to Las Vegas to hide out and earn money in a slightly more legal fashion than how they had been making it, Charles insisted.

This plan lasted six months before Daniel found himself in trouble gambling with the local mafia and Maury was barely able to save him. The local judge insisted Daniel might learn to be more responsible in the Army and strongly suggested he enlist. The others in their group agreed it would be a good idea and promised they would welcome him back with open arms. While Daniel had flirted with the young Angela Shaw during the last few months, he knew she wouldn't wait for him and bade her goodbye.

Angela strengthened her bonds of friendship with Charles during this time, but both knew they were not meant for each other. She also knew Maury was smitten with her like Daniel and Bobby had been, but had rebuffed him as well. Bobby was too immature and shy to do anything than follow the orders of everyone else.

Within a month of Daniel's enlistment, Charles and Angela had decided it was time to return to New York. Maury agreed, if only not to be left behind with the needy Bobby. Bobby, having nowhere else to turn to, accompanied the trio back east.

When they arrived in New York, Charles and Bobby found an apartment with one next door for Angela. Maury, however, soon returned to the Bronx and Ben Matthew's home.

He sat across the street from Ben's building that night, mustering up the courage to reunite with his mother after nearly a year away. It was only when he spotted the police cruiser pulling up that he finally decided it was time.

The cruiser pulled up in front of the building and two officers Maury didn't know got out of the car as he approached it.

"Hi, guys," he said cheerfully. "Are you hear to see Ben, too?" he asked.

The two men exchanged stern looks and asked him his name. "You know Ben Matthews, kid?" the one asked.

Maury's telepathy picked up on the danger in his tone. "Only casually," he lied. "I thought he lived on this block and when I saw the two of you get out--" Maury didn't finish that thought, as he then picked up what these two men were here for. They weren't there to pay Ben a friendly visit.

One of the men was already pulling his weapon. Maury fought down panic. He had survived a massacre, he could get through this, he told himself.

He forced his way into their heads. "_Who are you? Why do you want Ben?" _he demanded.

"We're under orders," one replied.

"Boss Maroni wants him dead for snooping into his business," the other said.

Maury knew he had only seconds to act. "_Put your guns away," _he commanded. _"Ben wasn't home. The apartment was empty. He left no trace of his whereabouts."_

The two men complied, returned to their cruiser, and left. Maury breathed a sigh of relief, but he had to act fast, now. He ran inside and pounded on Ben's door.

"Ben!? Open up, it's Maury! You're in danger!" he yelled.

Ben's wife, Mary, opened the door in shock. "Maury? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Where's Ben? I need to see him, now," he demanded. "You need to get out, right now!"

"What?" she replied in shock. "Ben's not here, he took your mother to a doctor's appointment--"

"Grab your purse. We can meet them and hide," he said, grabbing her arm.

"Maury, we can't just leave like this, your mother--"

"--is in danger! We all are!" he insisted. We have to leave now!"

"What about your sister?" Mary protested.

Maury stopped and stared at her. "Sister?"

"You didn't know. Your mother was pregnant. She had a little girl while you were gone," she explained. "That's why Ben took her to the doctor. They're at the pediatrician's."

Maury was dumbfounded by this news. Still, he had to get everyone to a safe place, immediately. He and Mary grabbed the barest essentials for a few days away, Maury insisting they could buy new things later, he had a safe place they could go and gave her the address of Charles and Bobby's apartment. He then went to the doctor's office that Mary told him about.

He met Ben and his mother on the street coming out of the doctor's building. "_Mom! _Ben!" he called out.

"Maury?" she replied in disbelief before realizing her son had come home. _"Maury!" _She ran to him and hugged him tight.

Ben walked up, carrying the baby. "Hey, kiddo," he said jovially. "Welcome back. We've got a surprise for you."

"My sister?" he asked impatiently. "Mary told me, but--we have to go. Now. You're in danger!"

Ben looked him in the eye quizzically.

"Maroni's got men posing as cops. I told them you had already cleared out. I went inside and found Mary, she filled me in, and I sent her to some friends," he explained. "We can go meet her and figure out things from there."

Ben and Maeve exchanged a worried look. "Maury," he began. "It's not going to be that easy. We can't just run and hide from these people."

"We can and we will," he insisted. "I have friends, now. People like me, who can help me get you out of here."

Ben knew he was losing the argument. "Fine," he sighed, "take us to your friends."

Maury smiled and hailed a cab. He finally got to see his new sister on the way.

"Her name is Irene," Maeve informed him as he held her for the first time. "After my grandmother."

Maury smiled down at her. "Hi, Irene. I'm your big brother, Maury." He laughed at the thought of being a brother, now. He turned to his mother. "Why didn't you tell me you were--you know?"

"I didn't know myself, right away," she explained. "I was just starting to show when you left, and _you_ didn't even notice," she said, teasing him.

"Turns out you can't hear everything," Ben teased from the other side of Maeve.

"There are certain things I learned to tune out, right away," Maury shot back with a wink and a fake shudder.

Maeve slapped him on the arm and took her daughter back. "_You boys! _Stop it," she scolded them to their amusement.

When the group arrived at Charles' apartment, they found Mary waiting along with Charles and Angela dozing on a couch.

"About time, Parkman," Charles scolded him. "We were starting to get worried. This is your mother and uncle?"

"Yeah, sorry to impose on everyone like this, but it couldn't be helped," he explained before introducing everyone properly. He pulled Charles aside, "Is Angie asleep on purpose or just bad timing?"

Charles sighed. "A little of both, I think," he said. "I'd wake her up, but she might not dream what she needs to dream right now."

"Well, I hope she doesn't mind sharing her place tonight," Maury replied. "We can figure out what to do and be on our way in the morning."

"Did anyone follow you?" Charles asked as Ben joined the conversation.

"Not that I saw," Ben informed him. "I've been on the beat for fifteen years, I didn't see anyone tailing us."

"Do you want me to go downstairs and keep a lookout?"

"No, Maury," Charles replied. "You have to keep your family safe. I'll--"

"Irene!" Angela suddenly shouted from the couch. Everyone looked over to see her sitting up, having woken from her dream.

"How did she know--?" Ben started to ask, then realized what Maury had said earlier about friends like himself.

Charles knelt beside the couch. "Are you okay? Everyone made it here safe."

"Charles?" she asked, still momentarily disoriented. "Yes, I saw it, we have to get Maury's family out of here. They need to go west to be safe. California."

"_California?" _Ben sputtered. "What are you talking about?"

"You are Sgt. Matthews, correct?" Angela asked the older man who nodded in reply. "In order for your and Maury's families to be safe, you need to move to California, immediately."

"We can't just leave," Mary protested. "We have our families here and--"

Angela held up a hand. "I'm sorry, but the people after Maury and Ben won't stop until they know they can't touch you here. If you leave now, you can save yourselves, otherwise you may not be so lucky." She turned to Maury, "You have to go with them, too. I'm sorry."

"I understand, Angie," he replied before he realized what she said. "Wait, the people after Ben _and me_? Why would they be after me?" He turned to his uncle for answers.

"I'm sorry, kiddo, I didn't have a chance to tell you," Ben said. "It's the same people that shot me, they wanted you all along," he explained. "They didn't believe me that you had left, and now that you're back, all our lives are in danger. We have to leave to save ourselves."

"This Boss Maroni, is it? Who is this guy?" Maury demanded.

"I don't know, kiddo," Ben told him. "The only thing I can think of is that he somehow stumbled onto your secret and tried to recruit you last fall, and we all know how that turned out."

Maury fumed. He was slightly embarrassed by his actions that day, but his life and the man he regarded as an uncle were put on the line. He had acted in anger as much as self-defense.

"I can make him forget me," he declared. "Charles, can you help?"

Charles hesitated and looked to Angela. "Maury, we vowed to keep our secret safe so no one could hurt us ever again. If that's what you want? Yes, I'll help. I still suggest getting your family here out of harm's way first. Just to be safe."

Ben raised an eyebrow at this, but knew better not to ask what these kids had been put through. That would come later, when they were all safe in California.

"Fine," Maury agreed through gritted teeth. "Fine, I'm getting my family to California, and as soon as I can, I'm coming back here and making this Boss Maroni forget he ever heard of me, Uncle Ben, and even the thought of people with abilities!"

"What if he happens to have one, himself?" Ben asked.

"Then we wipe even that knowledge from his mind," Maury said coldly.

Ben looked to Maeve and they shared the same concern. What happened to turn him so cold? It was now obvious sending him to Coyote Sands had been a mistake, but now was not the time. Those questions would be asked later, if Maury would even be willing to share his apparent trauma.

No, Ben had to know, now. He reached for Maury. "Kiddo? What happened to you out there?"

Maury turned to face the man. "Prepare yourself," he said and reached up to touch Ben's head. Images of the massacre raced through his mind's eye. He could feel the terror of that night. It sent a chill down his spine.

"My god," he said, stumbling back. "It was a war zone. Worse, even," he recalled. His own war experiences paled by comparison.

Charles had telepathically caught part of the scene Maury shared, and grabbed his own head as he tried to process it. "I'm sorry," he said. "Had we known--"

"You already made your escape," Maury informed him. "The three of us were the lucky ones," he said somberly of George and Alice.

Angela and the other women looked on. Whatever Maury shared scared a WWII and police veteran as well as the young man the older women had initially assumed shared the same experience, but it was now obvious he hadn't.

That night, the group made plans to get the Parkman and Matthews families out of the city. Charles and Angela would oversee their collective belongings were shipped out as soon as they found a place. They would also send some monetary support for the next few months to make sure. California locations were thrown about, but Irene became fussy during this discussion until Los Angeles was mentioned, when she cooed. It was decided that would be their new home, then.

Ben piped up, "Well, at least it wasn't San Francisco." Confused glances were tossed his way. "I really hate fog in the morning."

The next day, the Parkman and Matthews families made their way to the train station after a quick clothes shopping trip paid for by Angela, who had already assumed her parent's finances, and made sure Irene had extra socks of all things. Charles and Angela saw their friend off at the station.

"Well, this looks like it," Maury told them. "I'll call and let you know how things work out. Let me know if you still want to carry out that other thing you told me about, helping others like us."

"We will, Maury," Charles said. "Good luck and I hope you have a safe journey." They hugged goodbye and Maury turned to Angela.

"Take care, Maury," she told him.

"I will, and you two take care of each other, too," he said. "We really do appreciate everything you've done and are doing for us. I don't know how to make it up to you guys."

Angela smiled. "Don't worry, when the time comes, you will have repaid our efforts a thousand-fold."

Maury looked at her a second, dumbfounded. "Thank you, my princess," he whispered and kissed her cheek. Before she could react, he turned and left.

Angela stared after him. "What do you suppose that was about?"

Charles smiled. "I wouldn't worry about it, he's just a dopey kid," he laughed. He held his arm out. "Lunch? I'm buying."

She slipped her arm into his. "Why not? Suddenly I could use a slice of apple pie, right now."

-

A/N: I originally really wanted to have Kaito at CS, but the recent casting calls for young Ando and Kimiko and the already announced plans for Founders Flashbacks made me hesitant to use him. I had planned to have the escape involve Kaito's probability reading ability, but having Maury forced to learn 'pushing' on the run works just as well.

Is 'George' Masahashi Ando's father or just a coincidental surname? And is Frankie Davis related to Sylar's first victim, Brian? I leave that to the reader to decide, as I don't plan on revisiting those characters.

Also, I had to explain Matt's cousin Seth from an earlier story (at Matt and Janice's wedding), somehow, so I introduced Maury's baby sister, Irene, to be his mother.

TBC**_____________**


	3. 1967 Consequences

HEROES: 1967

Characters: Maury, Angela, Charles, Linderman, other mentions, OCs

Disclaimer: I own nothing. HEROES characters intellectual property of Tim Kring.

A/N: I'm skipping ahead a few years on this one. I'm leaving it open for any canonical bits that will be established in s4/v5, but assuming all the Twelve Founders have been located, even if they haven't all met, yet. Also reworking Vigil ch2 here, as I totally disregarded the established continuity concerning that time, which "1961" may have screwed their own pooch by including Lindy at CS. (besides, I know Matt ain't really Angela's, but this is MY fanfic and I say he is!)

-

**New York City - early September, 1967**

The meeting ran late again. Angela Petrelli was tired and distracted by the fact her young son, Nathan, had been running a slight fever all day. Harry Fletcher had gone to the LA office to help out Susan with Dr. Zimmerman's research. Arthur had been called away due to military obligations, and had left that morning, not knowing what mission he had been assigned to handle this time.

This left the New York office in the hands of Adam, herself, Charles, Maury, Kaito, and Victoria. Paula, Carlos, and Bob were busy overseeing setting up the paper company front in Odessa, TX. Paula had found a promising pair of sisters down in New Orleans and was going on at length on their possible usefulness to the Company. The younger, super-charger Paulette, was eager to meet others like her, while the elder, Deanna or 'Nana', was hesitant about the Company's motives and wouldn't reveal her ability, if any.

These conference call meetings always seemed to run late, she thought as they had finally concluded their business. Then again, the conference calls were the only way to get everyone together, as she had not even had a chance to introduce Daniel to her husband, and Carlos and Susan had yet to meet, either. Were it not for Maury's initial chance meeting with Adam at Coyote Sands, their group would have been half the size it was, now. Adam had brought Kaito to them, and between her dreams and his probability perception, they had gathered and formed the founding members of their Company.

She had hoped Kaito would see her home again, but he, Adam, and Charles were continuing their discussions. _Ah well, another time then_, she mused to herself, already missing Arthur.

Even though Adam had encouraged them to intermingle, he cautioned them with reason, especially where the only actual couple of the group were concerned. Arthur had not been happy when he found out about the brief dalliance of Kaito and Angela, so they had called it off. Sometimes a woman has needs, she had argued. Arthur had been too busy dealing with Company business, his law exams, and the occasional military mission to tend to her in the early years of their marriage. She had lately wondered how he had time to woo her, much less spare the time it took to make Nathan, she groused to herself as she put her coat on to leave. Oh right, she let her dreams dictate her actions with Arthur, she mused.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Maury approach her until she had trouble with her jacket sleeve, whereby he immediately grabbed it and helped her out.

"Angela?" Maury asked in his most innocent voice. "Is Kaito not seeing you home, tonight?"

"No," she replied. "He has...other matters to tend to, tonight." She glanced at the trio still in the conference room as she said this.

Maury picked up on a hint of regret. "Well then, if I may be so bold, may I squire you home, my lady?" he chuckled as he said this.

Angela looked him in the eye, then back at Kaito, deep in discussion. "No, that's alright, Maury," she forced a smile. "Maybe some other time? I really must get home and check on Nathan." It was a half-truth, she knew Arthur would be furious again if he suspected her cheating again, especially now, but really she was worried about Nathan with his fever. "Don't you have to get back home to your girlfriend?"

"Ruth's fine. She knows these meetings can run late," he replied. At least let me walk you down to your car?" he insisted.

"That's ok, Maury, I'll be fine," she demurred, getting perturbed. She caught Victoria's eye, and she came to Angela's rescue.

"Angela? Are you ready to leave, now?" Victoria interrupted before Maury could say anything more.

"Yes, of course," Angela said to her friend as they moved toward the door. "I'll see you later, Maury," she said as the women stepped away, arm in arm.

As soon as they were out in the hall, headed for the elevator, Angela sighed. "Thank you, dear, I don't know what that was about, but I got the impression that he wanted something."

"You don't think...?" Victoria started as they stepped into the lift.

"Maury?" Angela said in mock astonishment. "God forbid! Perish the thought, my dear, and that's the last time I let you in on any of my secrets!"

The two women looked at each other and began laughing their heads off.

Victoria finally caught her breath, "You know, from what you said, I wouldn't mind giving Kaito a turn, if he's as good as you say!"

"It's the whole probability thing he does," Angela chuckled. "He knows what will drive you wild before you do!" she confided. They doubled over again in laughter.

"Yeah, but Maury?" Victoria asked. "Susan said she gave in to him one night, she was drunk off her ass--"

"No! Not our Susan!" Angela giggled in mock protest.

"Yes! And she said Maury was a lousy lay. And," she leaned closer, "she didn't realize he was Jewish!" They laughed again. "She said she gave him a few pointers, but she wasn't really up to seeing if he ever took his lessons." The women continued to laugh as the elevator reached the lobby and they made their way out of the Kirby Plaza Building.

"They never do, do they?" Angela teased, remembering she had to show Arthur a few special moves that she found pleasurable, but he still rarely used. "Now don't get me wrong, Arthur is good, but Kaito?" she paused, sighing, hand over her heart. "Oh, Victoria! He made me feel so..._fabulous!" _She shivered in the remembrance.

This brought a new round of giggling as they hailed their respective drivers. They said their respective goodnights, kissing each other on the cheek and went their separate ways.

Upstairs, Maury watched them from a darkened window. He knew what they were talking about and he fumed. The light clicked on behind him.

"Maury?" Charles asked. "I thought you left?"

Maury was caught off guard, he reeled in his thoughts as he turned to his cohort. "oh! I-I was about to, I was going to ask Adam something, but I guess it can wait," he said, motioning to the pair still locked in debate in the windowed conference room. He seemed to study the men for a minute, before a gruff, "I-I'll see you later, Charles."

With that, Maury sidestepped Charles and left the office. Charles watched him hustle out the door and shook his head. Something wasn't right, but he wasn't sure what. He knew later, he should have said something, and regretted it almost every day after until his death. What he didn't know was his hesitation may have eventually helped save the world years later.

As Angela arrived home, she checked in with the maid about Nathan, made sure he was tucked in and his fever seemed to have broken. The maid said she had to finish a few things downstairs and would let herself out, also, that Arthur had called and left a message he would try to call back in the morning before he left. Angela smiled her thanks and began preparing for bed.

She had just climbed beneath the covers with a book when she heard a noise downstairs. The sound of the front door closing. Glancing at the clock she mused, "Well, that was fast." She yawned.

"Ready for some fun?" Arthur asked from the doorway, removing his tie with a mischievous grin. Angela, caught off guard, couldn't help but match his expression as he quickly crossed to the bed and took her in his arms.

"I thought you were leaving in the morning?" she asked him as he stripped.

"Right, in the _morning_," he winked.

Angela was momentarily taken aback by her husband's amorous advances, as it had been over two weeks and that was more of a rushed affair than anything else, perhaps more of a reclaiming what was his from Kaito, once more. Not revenge fucking, but similar. She had chalked it up to the trials of young parents busy with their careers, but tonight was different.

This time, he seemed to know what she wanted the moment she wanted it. It was almost like being with Kaito again. It was great. She needed it and he seemed to need it as well, a long slow one without a care who heard. She glanced over to make sure the bedroom door was closed, just in case they woke Nathan. As this thought crossed her mind, Arthur seemed to pause, as if thrown off from his rhythm. For a moment, he seemed different; heavier, hairier? Then it went away, as he pulled her close and rolled over so she was on top. One hand pawed at her breasts, the other worked below, as he let her use him.

She loved every minute of him. He enjoyed this fact without being told. She finally collapsed in erotic exhaustion, murmuring, "We really need to do this more often, Arthur."

"Any time, my princess," he mumbled into her cleavage.

She fell immediately asleep and never felt him rise and leave. She dreamed that night that she was pregnant again.

The child would be big and strong, good and brave. He would also help his brothers save the world, but...he didn't know they were his brothers. She even saw herself keeping him at a distance, she couldn't afford to let him get close. Then she knew, he couldn't know the truth of who he really was.

She woke up to find her young son snuggling up to her. "When daddy get home?" Nathan whined.

"hmm?" she slurred, half asleep, mistaking his question for a statement. "What are you talking about, did he get up and leave, already?"

"Huh?" Nathan inquired. "He not home."

Even half-asleep, she knew not to get her son worked up over the chance he missed seeing his father. "I'm sorry, Nathan, I guess I was dreaming he was still here," she said. "The maid said he would call this morning, so why don't you go downstairs and wait, okay?"

"Fine," he moaned and left her bed.

As soon as he left, she reached for her journal and wrote down what she remembered of her dream. She even made a quick sketch of her future son's face. She wished she were a better artist, like Carlos, as she didn't want to forget those dimples or the smile in his eyes. Almost as an afterthought, she made a note, "policeman?" It seemed to fit him, that he would serve the law and protect those who needed it.

Arthur called an hour later. Angela was relieved, as Nathan had grown increasingly impatient waiting, so she let him talk first. When she finally had the chance to talk with her husband, he informed her he would be gone at least a few weeks, if not months, and the mission was deep into 'enemy territory', which was all he had been allowed to know at that point.

"Well, I know you will return, but I still want you to be careful," she told him. "Nathan needs his father, and I...I need my husband." She said this last bit in her sexiest voice so he would know what she meant.

She had hoped he would catch the reference to the previous night, but he laughed and said he would return as soon as he could before she got too lonely. He still had a few of her letters from his last mission to tide him over until he returned.

Angela replied, "I'm touched, here I was thinking you had read them once and thrown them away."

"Not likely," he said. "It's the only thing I have to remember you by on these long journeys away from you."

"Well, you be sure and keep in mind to actually show me you miss me when you get home, Arthur," she chided him.

He laughed it off and said he had to go, both saying they would miss each other.

The next few weeks seemed to fly by, even as the dream of a son returned every night. More details seemed to follow. He was tied to the dream she had about New York being decimated, he tried to stop it, but was killed. This disturbed her, but she then saw he would go on to have children of his own after that. Had he only been wounded? Details changed in her dreams all the time, as minor events happened that changed larger events that would happen even decades later. She was fully aware of that due to the nature of her power. After all, she had known about Nathan and even Peter for years, but this child wasn't Peter, he was--the name slipped from her, elusive and yet familiar.

Then the morning sickness came. She passed it off as a stomach bug at first, that last night with Arthur surely didn't mean--? No, the child she was dreaming about would not be hers for a while, but still she wondered. She had to know for sure.

She called Victoria and promised her to secrecy when she asked for a check-up. Victoria's news was not encouraging.

"Aren't you happy?" the redhead asked. "Nathan will have a little brother or sister to play with, now."

Angela couldn't accept this. "I've been having dreams, Victoria," she confessed. "I knew I would have another child--children, in fact, but this child I wouldn't be able to raise. I _can't_ raise him," she explained.

Victoria put an arm around her friend. "What makes you say that?"

Angela forced a smile. "He has his own destiny. He will find us when the time is right, but he cannot be raised with his brothers."

"Then who is supposed to raise him?"

Angela struggled for an answer. "I-I don't know. Not yet."

"Do you want to get word to Arthur then?" she asked. "He should know about the pregnancy, even if you are convinced you can't raise this one."

"No," she said calmly. "I don't want anyone to know. Not yet. Not until I know more."

Victoria had no argument, but to follow her patient's wishes. "Do you want me to keep this from Adam, as well? He'll want to know you're pregnant again."

"Adam is far too nosy for his own good," Angela replied, not without a fair amount of malice. "Do you know he asked Arthur and I to keep a diary of our," she fought disgust at the words, "our 'marital duties'!" she finished more disgusted than she ever was. "Why do you think Arthur and I hardly ever did anything? That kind of 'sharing' puts a damper on the mood every time!"

Victoria fought a laugh as she let her friend vent. "I understand it from a privacy point of view," she consoled her, "but Adam and I are convinced Arthur will still manifest, and if it turns out to be an ability like pheromones, something triggered by touch, or something else, I can understand his point."

"Trust me, it wasn't pheromones that made me fall in love with him," Angela sighed. "And it sure isn't pheromones that keep us together. No, I can't see it yet, but he will manifest a very powerful ability when the time comes. You can be sure of that."

"More powerful than regeneration, precognition, telepathy, probability, alchemy, and biologic manipulation?" Victoria asked as she smiled. "Well, if you say so," she said, handing Angela her shirt and started straightening her exam room. "Are you going to be at the meeting tonight?"

"I suppose," Angela replied. She held her belly. "If someone doesn't start in on cravings or anything right away," she chuckled.

"I'll see you tonight, then," she replied. "and for what it's worth, congratulations."

"Thank you dear," Angela said as she left the room.

She spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. She couldn't get the idea of having to give her future child away out of her head. She didn't even realize she had grabbed nearly a dozen pairs of socks until she went to pay for her purchases.

She arrived at the Kirby Plaza offices early, so she could call home and check that Nathan had eaten and to say goodnight before he was tucked in for the night. As she hung up, she thought she saw a shadow move past her door. She got up to check who else had arrived, but the hall appeared empty.

Popping into Victoria's office, she asked, "Did you see anyone else arrive, already?"

"I think Charles is here?" the redhead replied. "Did you need to talk to him?"

"No, I just thought I saw someone outside my office a minute ago, but no one was there," she shrugged.

"Nervous?" Victoria asked. "How was your afternoon?"

Angela smiled. "It's not nerves, dear. And I bought socks."

Victoria gave her a questioning look.

When the meeting convened, Adam was going over progress reports with the LA and Odessa teams. Angela found herself lost in her own thoughts for a minute.

"_Pregnant?!?" _Maury suddenly sputtered, spewing his water over the conference table.

Everyone stopped and stared at him, watching his face turn red with embarrassment. Victoria threw a glance to Angela and saw her staring daggers at the telepath.

"Something you would care to discuss, Mr. Parkman?" Adam asked congenially.

"I, uh, no, that is--" he sputtered, wiping his chin dry. He threw a nervous glance toward Angela. Hardly anyone heard him finish, "No sir, nothing to share."

Adam watched him for a minute then asked, "What about you, Mrs. Petrelli? Do you have anything to share with us, tonight, Angela?"

Angela glanced to Adam, then back to Maury. He held his head low, but caught her eye for a second before looking down again.

_That bastard read my mind! _She fumed. She caught both Charles and Maury wince for a second.

"Angela?" Adam prodded.

"No, Adam. I do not have anything I wish to share with the group, tonight," she replied coolly.

Adam gave her a look that told her he didn't believe her. He glanced to Maury, then back to her. "Well then, maybe sometime soon, I hope?" he said in a tone that everybody listening took to understand Maury ruined the surprise news.

"Maybe," she replied.

"As I was saying, then," he continued right where he had left off.

_Charles, I need to speak with you after the meeting_, she thought toward her friend. He gave her a small nod in reply and gave Maury a dirty look for ruining Angela's announcement.

She noticed Maury looking at her again. _I'm sorry_, he mouthed. _Really, I am. _Her mental reply was very rude.

As soon as the meeting ended, Charles excused himself and followed Angela to her office. "You want to know how to keep a telepath out of your head, is that it?"

"However did you guess?" she fumed. "He had no right!" she cried.

Charles drew her into a hug. "We've discussed this, there are limits on privacy and such, but he tends to forget who he's dealing with, sometimes," he consoled her.

"I just found out for sure today," she said.

"So Arthur doesn't know?"

"I think it was the night before he left, he snuck home and--well, I think that's when it happened," she explained. "I started dreaming I was going to have another son, but--"

"There's something else, isn't there?"

"I told Victoria, I might as well tell you, Charles." She drew herself together for a second and said calmly, "I can't raise this child. For him to live out his destiny, he can not be raised with this family."

"You're giving him up? Do you know why?"

"No, I don't," she replied solemnly, on the verge of tears. "I just know that his destiny is away from here until...I've told you about my other dreams. He has his part to play, and he must stay away until then."

Charles sighed. "I wish I could say I understand, but if that is what you think must happen, I'm here for you."

She hugged him tight. "Thank you, Charles. You are a dear friend."

After a moment, he asked, "Do you know who is supposed to raise him?"

"No, not yet," she replied. "I do get the impression of somewhere warm, beaches and sunshine."

"You mean, Florida or Califor--" he started, but they both drew back and looked at each other. "You don't think?"

"That's where I told Maury's family they had to go, to escape the danger posed to them here," she said.

"Do you think they're the ones who have to raise the child?"

"I don't know, Charles. I don't know," she said, at a loss.

-

Back in the conference room, Kaito and Victoria had left Maury and Adam alone.

"So, Mr. Parkman," Adam began, eying him warily. "What do you think you were doing, earlier?"

"I'm sorry, sir," he apologized. "I didn't mean to intrude, but it was almost like she was shouting the news," he explained.

"Then why didn't Charles say something as well?" he asked, rising from his chair and standing behind Maury's.

"I-I don't know, sir," he mumbled.

Adam put his hands on Maury's shoulders. He leaned forward, whispering in his ear, "I didn't hear that."

"I don't know, sir," Maury repeated, louder.

"Trust me, something like this, women like to announce when _they_ feel the time is right," Adam explained. "Why would you want to ruin such a wonderful announcement by blurting it out at a most inopportune time?"

"I don't know, sir," Maury repeated.

"You. Don't. Know?" Adam repeated.

Maury fidgeted under his tightening grip. "P-Please, sir, I m-meant no harm, it-it just took me by surprise, th-that's all."

Adam leaned down again. "Why do I get the feeling you are not telling me everything? What else do you know?"

Maury squirmed as Adam's fingers dug in like a vice on his shoulders. "N-nothing!" he shouted.

One hand released, and Maury let out a small sigh until he heard a distinct scrape of metal and something cold was pressed to his neck.

"Are you sure?" Adam asked as he pressed the tip of the dagger against Maury's throat.

Maury gulped. He knew he had to give Adam something. "Arthur doesn't know!" he blurted out.

"Not surprising, if she just found out, herself," Adam replied coolly. "Tell me something I don't know."

_Charles, help! _He mentally shouted, sending a brief mental image of the knife against his throat. "I-I don't know anything else!" he repeated.

"More's the pity, then," Adam replied, drawing the blade a fraction, cutting into the telepath's fleshy neck.

Charles burst into the room. "What the devil do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

Adam casually glanced up. "Making sure privacy is respected. Why do you ask?"

"Let go of him," Charles ordered.

Angela strode in behind him and gasped in horror.

Adam pointed the blade at her. "Do you mean to tell me you wouldn't have done the same?"

"Absolutely not!" she cried. "Catching a stray thought and blurting it out is one thing, but this? You mean to kill him?"

"I mean to teach him a lesson, Angela," the immortal explained. "One I hope is not lost on the rest of you children. Isn't that right, Maury?" he asked.

"Please!" he begged. "I meant no harm! Angie, I'm sorry! I'll do anything you want, just don't give him away!"

The room went cold.

It was Adam who spoke first. "Give who away? What are you talking about?"

For a brief second, Angela contemplated letting Adam slit his throat. "Stay the hell out of my head, Parkman!" she cried, on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whimpered, holding his hand out to her imploringly. "Please don't--"

That's when she realized what had happened. "Adam, get the hell out. Charles, go get Victoria, please."

The men looked at each other, then left the room. Maury knew that she now knew the truth of what had happened. Angela took the seat across from him and glared at him.

"How could you?" she fumed.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry."

"I understand now. I know why I can't raise my child," she said. "His father must raise him. Isn't that right?"

"W-what?"

"In my dreams, I knew that this child I carry can not be raised here as one of mine and Arthur's. I understand now, that his father must raise him."

"I-I don't--?"

"Tell me, Maury, are you still seeing that girl? What was her name again?"

"R-Ruth? Yeah, I'm seeing her, but we're not--"

Angela held up her hand. "Marry her. Then you will raise the child as your own. You will move out to California with the rest of your family and raise Matthew there."

"Marry? Matthew? What?" he stammered.

She looked at him, realizing she had named the child. "Matthew," she said again, feeling the name. "Yes, That sounds right. Matthew Parkman." She looked down and rubbed her belly. "Hello, Matthew. I'd like you to meet your father." She raised her head and gave the man a dirty look.

Maury smiled across at her. "It-It's a good name. I can say I named him after Uncle Ben, his last name was Matthews."

"You _will_ do this, Maury," she said coldly. His smile fell from his face. "You will raise this child and keep him from ever knowing about us as long as you can. Do you understand me?" she asked.

Maury nodded and looked down at her belly again.

A small knock and Victoria entered. "You wanted to see me, Angela?"

"Yes. Tell me, can you tell who the father of the child is?"

"Well, yes, I suppose I can compare against the DNA samples of Arthur I have on hand, but--"

"No, not Arthur." She looked across the table.

Victoria followed her gaze. "oh. Um, yes, I can run a test right now, but we won't know for a few days--"

"No dear," Angela said. "Can _you_ feel out the paternity, right here, right now?"

Victoria sighed. "Yes, but it will take a minute." She pulled up a chair and reached for Angela's stomach. Concentrating, she reached out for the fetus, reading it's genetic make-up in her mind. She reached her other hand across the table. Maury instinctively grasped it without being told.

"I can feel it, yes," Victoria said, concentrating. "Yes...yes, it's Maury. You are both the genetic parents of this child."

Maury withdrew his hand with a gasp and Victoria slowly pulled her mind back and sat up, winded from the effort.

"Thank you, dear," Angela said, grasping her friend's hand. She looked across the table.

"I-I'm sorry, Angie," he said. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I never would have--"

Angela cut him off. "You never should have, but you did," she said coldly. "Now, you must take responsibility for your actions."

"I-I...yes, whatever you want," he replied. "I'm sorry I did this to you, Angie."

"I've told you what you have to do, now get the hell out of my sight, Maury." He nodded and left the room.

Victoria rubbed her temple. "How did he accomplish this if you didn't know about it?"

Angela mused. "It seems Maury is more talented with his ability than we ever gave him credit for."

"Shape-shifting?"

"No, he pulled every memory of Arthur from my mind and used it to trick me," she explained. "Never again."

Victoria held Angela's hand as Angela held her other hand against her belly. "Never again," she repeated.

The following months were business as usual at the Company. On the personal front, Maury quickly proposed to Ruth, explaining to her the basics of the situation. She mainly agreed as she could not have children of her own, but would accept raising Maury's instead. She was also surprisingly agreeable to relocating to Los Angeles, if only so that Maury's family could see their new addition more freely. Their cover would be it was the child of an ex-girlfriend of Maury's, forced by her family to give the child up and Maury stepped up for the honor.

So it was that Maury and Carlos traded roles, Maury transferred to LA while Carlos moved up to New York City. With Arthur still gone, Angela and Victoria briefly moved out to LA with Nathan in tow to await Matthew's impending birth. The only lie they would then have to cover was the person who actually gave birth. For her socialite friends, Angela would simply say the child was stillborn. Nathan had arrived with a few complications, so this made a perfect cover. Her friends would console her, but not press the matter when Arthur returned. What he wouldn't know wouldn't hurt him...or Maury.

Angela dreamed the night before about Matthew once again. She woke the morning of June 10 with trepidation. She knew what lay in store for the son she would have to deny. She rubbed her swollen belly. "I'm sorry, Matthew. You must be the brave one. For me, for yourself, for the world. I wish I could tell you how much my heart will ache for you, but I can't. I can't even tell you how much I love you."

Then she felt the first contraction. "oof, if that's your way of saying it, then on your way, then," she chuckled. She reached for the phone and dialed Victoria's number. "Yes, dear, it's time."

Over the next few hours, Angela made ready to deliver a child into the arms of a man she once would have trusted with her life, but no longer. "You understand you must keep him away from all of this, correct?" she asked Maury again.

"I'll send him away if I have to, Angie," Maury replied. He then said humbly, "I'm sorry, Anj. I'm sorry I did this to you."

Angela held up her hand. "We've discussed it and raising him will be your penance. Just don't let him turn out like you did," she said sternly.

"I-I'll try, Angela," he replied.

"You'll do better than try, Maury," she insisted as another contraction took hold. "Now get out so I can deliver him."

"Good luck, Angie. I-I'll see you in a bit," he replied. "And Angie? Thank you." She nodded and he left her to the care of Victoria and Dr. Zimmerman.

Soon enough, Angela held the newborn in her arms, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "Hello, Matthew. I love you, but I must do this to save you," she told him, "and, perhaps, to save what little soul I have left. Be brave for me, my son." She kissed his still damp black hair.

"He's a cutie," Victoria smiled down at her friend, brushing Angela's own dark hair out of her face. Angela smiled up at her and turned away, closing her eyes. Victoria gently picked up the newborn from his mother's arms. Matt began crying as Victoria took him out of the room, away from his mother for thirty-eight years.

"Be brave for me," Angela whispered once more.

TBC_________________


	4. 1977 Downfall

HEROES: 1977

Characters: Maury, Adam, Victoria, Kaito, Angela, Arthur, Charles, Linderman

Disclaimer: I own nuttink! Just playing with Tim Kring's intellectual copyrighted toys.

-

**Odessa, TX - October, 1977**

"What's the latest progress on this virus we acquired from that Indian girl?" Adam asked Victoria as he perused her lab.

"Shanti Suresh?" she asked. Adam nodded. She looked over her notes. "So far, I've cultivated 137 different strains of this particular sample. The intensity of these strains range from mostly inert to lethal if not treated."

"Treated how?" he pressed. "I know that this 'penicillin' is all the rage these days, but what about other drugs?" he asked. "Could a sample of my blood be the only cure for some of these strains?"

Victoria hesitated. "Why would you want to know something like that, Adam?" she asked, suddenly alarmed. Who else was in the building today, she wondered.

"Oh, no reason, really. Just in case there was an...outbreak," he replied. "By accident, you know," he smiled.

His smile sent shivers down her spine. "Even the common cold can be lethal, Adam. Surely you know that," she replied nervously. _Somebody get to the lab, now! _She screamed inside her head, hoping one of the telepaths on staff were nearby.

"Ah, but this little girl," he said in wonder. "This little girl could kill an army without lifting a finger. Do you know how rare, how precious a gift like that is? And what happened? She wound up killing herself with her own ability."

"Adam, please get out of my lab," she demanded.

"What aren't you telling me?" he inquired. He picked up a vial. "Could some of those strains kill even me?" He asked, leaning into her ominously.

"Y-yes," she stammered. "Yes, some of those strains could kill even you, Adam. They could wipe out all life as we know it!"

Adam stepped back and smiled. "Thank you, that was all I needed to know." He turned and strode out of the lab.

Victoria slumped onto a stool and buried her face in her hands. She pounded the table with her fist. "Damn. Damn. _DAMN!_"

"Vic? Is everything all right?" Maury asked, poking his head in. He motioned to his head. "I heard you cry out."

"Maury?" she said, looking up at him in disbelief. "Oh God, what have I done?" she cried.

Maury went to her side and gave her a consoling hug as she told him what Adam wanted. "You don't seriously think that even he would consider something like that?"

"I don't know what to believe, anymore," she sobbed.

"I think the time has come we need to do something about our self-appointed leader," he replied. "I'm calling Kaito and Arthur."

Within six hours, a majority of the Founders had been assembled at the Odessa, Texas facility.

"So what's this emergency you called us all down here for, Parkman?" Arthur asked, not bothering to hide his disgust with the man.

"Calm down, Arthur," Angela said. "I'm sure Maury and Victoria had good reason to convene us." She motioned to her friend to explain.

"It's Adam," the redhead began. "He was asking about the virus stock I acquired from the Indian girl, Suresh."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "So? What does that have to do with us?"

Behind him, Angela exchanged glances with Charles, Daniel, and Maury.

"Surely he wouldn't?" Charles said aloud. "Especially not with Suresh's own child?"

Arthur turned and glared at the telepath. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"We have a history with the Suresh girl's father, Arthur," Daniel Linderman informed his friend.

"So?" he shot back. "You already told me you and Angela knew each other before we met in Viet Nam. This is just another coincidence."

"Arthur, we know you share many views with Adam," Angela said coolly. "But for him to take an opportunity like this is beyond coincidence. We have to put a stop to whatever his plans are concerning this virus."

"What, you think he's going to try and poison the world?" Arthur countered. "Make the 1917 flu epidemic look like a blip on the radar?"

"It's possible," Victoria said quietly. "He was asking if this virus could even kill someone like him."

Arthur eyed her a moment. "And?"

She returned a sad but defiant look. "Yes, at least one strain is lethal enough it may kill someone with regenerative abilities like Adam."

"Where is it?" he demanded.

"I've locked it up in a safe place."

"Where?"

"Arthur!" Angela interrupted. "There is no way in hell we are letting Adam get his hands on that or any other virus! I will not allow that madman to kill our children!"

Arthur stared hard at his wife for a long moment. "Children?"

"You know what I mean," she replied, suddenly caught off-guard by her slip. "All of this group's children. _Everybody's_ children. The _innocents_ who will fall in this mad plan."

"This is all speculation. You have no proof he's going to do anything with this virus," Arthur protested.

"Damn it, Arthur! This is no time for your damn idol worship of Adam!" Maury yelled. "He's always planning something and he's definitely interested in this virus! We have to get rid of it before he can get his hands on it!"

"More speculation."

"I've seen what he intends to do, Arthur," Angela finally exclaimed. "This world will be left a lifeless husk in a matter of months if he releases that virus. We have to put a stop to this and put a stop to him." She glared at her husband defiantly.

"Fine, I'll go talk to him," he replied, staring down his wife. "I'll ask him directly, find out what his plans are."

"Not by yourself, you're not," Maury told him.

"Right, at least two of us will approach Adam with you," Daniel added. "Keeps us all honest. Besides, he might just as well kill you as soon as tell you his plans."

Arthur glared at the pair, but finally acceded to their wishes. "Fine," he grumbled under his breath and strode from the room.

Maury and Daniel followed him to Adam's office.

Arthur stopped outside the door and turned to his escorts. "You'll see you were wrong about this." He knocked, "Adam, it's Arthur. I need to talk to you a minute."

"Come in," came a familiar voice from the other side of the door. Arthur opened the door to find Adam going over papers behind his desk. He glanced up and did a double-take at the two men with Arthur. "What can I do for you gentlemen?"

Arthur glanced to his two companions then back to Adam. "It seems there are rumors that you've been asking about that virus from the Indian girl?"

"Yes, what of it?"

Another disdainful glance to his companions. "It seems some of us are making assumptions about your plans for the virus in question. We came to find out what your intentions are."

"Oh, Arthur, you disappoint me," Adam replied, rising from his desk. "A general must always know the status of his arsenal."

"So you have no intent to use it as a weapon, then?" Maury asked.

Adam chuckled. "Well now, Mr. Parkman, I never said that."

Arthur's jaw dropped. "You wouldn't?"

"Survival of the fittest, Arthur, you know that," he replied. "Those who follow me I will do my best to cure with my blood. The rest? Well, they'll just have to take their chances, won't they?"

"You lying bastard!" Arthur yelled and started to charge his immortal mentor before shots rang out. He stopped in his tracks as Adam was shot right in front of him.

"You'll pay for this, Parkman," Adam said as he crumpled to the ground.

Arthur turned to see Maury holding a .357 Magnum. "You killed him?"

"I shot him, so we can lock him up before he can release that virus," Maury replied coldly. "I've been keeping linked with Charles. The others know everything he said. It's over, Arthur."

Arthur glared at Maury, then down at the fallen Adam before turning and leaving the room.

"I'd better keep an eye on him," Daniel said. "You'll watch Adam?" Maury nodded and Daniel followed his friend.

Maury then leaned down and whispered. "Next time, I bring a real gun and blow your fucking head off, you sick bastard." He glanced at his hand and the gun dissolved into the ether. He wondered how long he would have before Adam's body realized it hadn't been physically injured. He reached down to touch Adam's head. _"Sleep._"

_That should hold him for now_, he thought. _I'll be damned if I let him hurt my friends or family. Then again, Adam always had contingency plans. Best to start working on your own_, he told himself. No way was he going to let Matty be drawn into this nightmare life. That was one promise he would die to keep.

Charles and Kaito entered the office. "You have him?" Kaito asked.

"Yeah, made him think I shot him, then pushed him to sleep for now," Maury replied, standing back up. "Best I could do on short notice."

"You did what needed to be done, Maury," Charles consoled him.

Maury regarded his fellow telepath. "That's all we seem to be doing, isn't it?" he asked. "If you'll excuse me, I need some fresh air." He pushed past the other two into the hall where several security guards were standing, waiting to take Adam into custody.

"We need to make this official," Kaito said. "I'll draw up some documents that we all will sign to keep Adam under lock and key to prevent him from doing this again."

"For how long?" Charles asked. "He has a wife, you know."

"Many people in prison are married," Kaito replied. "We'll let her get on with her life away from this madman." Charles nodded solemnly.

-

Angela left Victoria with a guard at the lab to find her husband. She found Daniel standing outside his office. "He's in there, if you're looking for him. He's not happy, I can tell you that much. Told me to get out, stay out."

"I understand, Daniel, and thank you," she said and stepped into her husband's office. He shrugged and left, deciding he needed some fresh air as well.

"Are you alright, Arthur?" she asked, stepping inside.

He stood staring out the window, glass of scotch in his hand. "You were right."

"Such is my gift," she replied, clasping her hands together. "Are you mad at me?"

He didn't answer for a minute. "I think I'm more mad at myself, really. I bought into his views, hook, line, and sinker."

"We all did to some extent. He was the world weary traveler, having seen 400 years of history. We were too young, eager for someone to show us how things should be done. We should all be ashamed for letting it get this far."

"We should be glad it only went this far," he echoed.

She came up behind him and leaned into his shoulder. "What I said earlier? About children?"

He turned his head and looked down at her.

"We're going to have another one." He smiled and started to say something, but she cut him off. "Don't worry, it won't be for a little while, yet. But he'll make us proud, just like Nathan, Arthur."

"What are we going to call him?"

She smiled. "I'll let you know when the time is right. I can tell you this much, he'll be the rock to hold this family together though some troubled times," she smiled. "He'll have the best of both of us in him."

"What about Nathan?"

"Nathan has his own destiny, Arthur," she replied. "It's just a matter of trying to be his own man and not trying to be the son you want him to be."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He idolizes you the way you idolize Adam. He just needs to know that he doesn't have to follow your path to the letter."

He mulled this over for a minute. "I don't know if that was a compliment or an insult."

She stared out the window, through her own reflection and smiled. "You'll know what I mean when the time comes."

Arthur raised an eyebrow and took another swig of scotch. It was times like these that he hated being married to a precognitive.

-

Outside the PrimaTech Paper building, Daniel Linderman had caught up with Maury Parkman staring into the twilight. "So what happens now?" he asked in his British accent.

"We cover our own asses, Danny."

"Is this the end of the Company, you think?"

"No, but this is the beginning of the end. We're going to question each other's motives a lot more from now on. Vic has really been shaken up by what happened here, today. I don't expect her to stick around much longer."

"Surely you can't be serious?"

"She was already thinking it before I called you all down here. She might help out if there's a real emergency, but I think she's already decided to leave in her mind."

"Can't say that I blame her. What about you?"

Maury was silent for a minute. "Like I said, we cover our own asses from here on out. I've got a wife and son to think about. I've got to make sure they stay well away from this."

"Which is why you moved to Los Angeles?"

Maury smiled. "One of the reasons, yes."

Daniel sighed. "Remember the good old days, when we were living our lives? We narrowly escaped the Coyote Sands massacre and were living it up in Las Vegas?"

Maury chuckled. "Yeah, those were good times." He turned and had a serious expression on his face. "Then I returned to my family in New York and immediately had to get them out of there for their own safety. Time to grow up and move on, Danny."

"I was thinking, I have a couple business contacts in Vegas. We were talking about opening a hotel, put in a small casino, expand from there. You're welcome to join me."

"No, I don't think so, Danny. I'm content to run the offices in LA with Susan. Hell, I was only down here to help you out while Paula's on vacation. Why don't you ask Arthur? He's got the legal contacts to keep you out of trouble out there."

"I know what you're talking about, 'trouble'. Yes, some of my contacts are, shall we say, of a questionable nature, but if it's good enough for Frankie, it's good enough for me."

"Sinatra?" Maury laughed. "Surely you can't be serious?"

"I am," he replied. "And stop calling me 'Shirley'," he winked. "Want to go raid Adam's office? See if we can find proof his plans for world domination are written down?"

"You just want to get to his good stuff before anyone else does, Danny."

"Well, to be honest, I really do like that sword of his, and since it looks like I'll be the one running this office for the time being, well, I might as well start making myself comfortable, no?"

"I'd think Kaito would want a look at that sword, first," Maury shook his head, laughing. "And here I thought I was the scam artist in the group!"

"Stick with me, kid, I'll show ya how it's done!" Daniel said in his best Bogart, which Maury argued was his worst as they headed back inside.

"Aw crap," Maury suddenly groaned, rubbing his temple.

"What is it?"

"Adam's awake and fighting the guards," Maury replied. "We better hurry back in there before he hurts someone."

Both men rushed inside to find Adam had returned to the lab, hurt Victoria and almost released the virus. He was quickly subdued once more and locked in a guarded sub-basement cell.

Later that night, Kaito presented the group with a Company document listing the crimes with which Adam Monroe was being charged. He informed the assembled group that Susan, Bob, Harry, Carlos, and Paula would arrive the next day to sign it, but those present had the option of signing it right there or waiting for the others.

"Since it seems the only way we can be sure of execution is decapitation and immolation, then scattering the ashes, we must all agree on that course of action," Kaito told them. "However, it is for the best, under current circumstances, that we keep him alive but imprisoned for the time being. This is just in case he has contingency plans already underway and we can interrogate him on how to deter those plans if need be."

"Sounds fair to me," Maury said.

"Since we have already begun construction on permanent holding cells for the more volatile personalities and abilities we have come across, Adam will be our first permanent resident, as it were. We only need a simple majority for indefinite incarceration, which we have present. We must be fully unanimous for the other option."

Angela spoke up. "I say we keep him around, try to find out what other secrets he's kept from us over the years." Others in the room nodded agreement.

"Even one vote abstaining means he lives," Kaito told them.

"Good, let him rot in a cell, thinking over how he fucked himself," Maury said and reached for the document to sign it.

Kaito put his hand on the sheet. "By signing this, we all agree not to take matters into our own hands in any event. Seeing as how he'll likely outlive all of us, the last of us will have to find new keepers of the agreement. Is that understood?"

Maury nodded and reached out again. Kaito drew back the paper and signed first, then allowed Maury to sign. Charles, Angela, Arthur, Daniel, and Victoria also signed off.

Kaito looked over the document one last time. "Very well, since it's after midnight, as of November 2, 1977, we have condemned Adam Monroe to life imprisonment with no chance of parole. Let the sentence be carried out immediately."

"What about the virus?" Victoria asked. "We should destroy it, just in case."

"What if he's already stolen samples?" Kaito pointed out. "We would need all the strains in your lab to create an antidote, if that were possible. No, we lock them away, as well."

"That's it then," she said.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"I wasn't asking. I was telling you," she said. "That's it, I'm out. I'm done with all this group has done. I wash my hands of you."

"Victoria, please," Angela reached to her friend. "Don't run away just because--"

"Because I'm tired of keeping secrets? Of all we've done?" she asked. "I'm sorry, Angela. I'll help you secure the virus, but then I'm out of here. If you have an extreme emergency that you think only I will be able to help with, I will come help if I can, but don't expect me to come running back with my tail between my legs. I can't keep living like this, I'm sorry."

Angela stood and held her arms out to her friend. "I'm sorry, too," she said as they embraced. "I'll miss you, dear."

Kaito, Charles, Daniel, and Maury also offered their support of her decision and let her leave for the night. Arthur stood indifferent to her, as they had never really gotten along.

"Are we done, or does anyone else want out, too?" Daniel asked, watching her leave. He forced himself not look at Maury, but could feel the man's dirty look at his back.

"Time will tell," Angela said, looking out the door after her friend. "Time will tell whether what we've done here will matter. And whether we've done our fair share of good...or we're all damned to Hell."

-

"Wake up, Adam," Maury intoned, standing outside his cell.

Adam's head lolled toward the door. Already awake, but obviously bored. "What do you want now, Parkman?"

"I just wanted you to know, we're all in agreement about keeping you locked up, you bastard," he said. "If it were up to me, I'd chop you up and bury your limbs in cement, then drop those blocks into the deepest ocean depths."

Adam sat up and gave him a slow, appreciative clap. "Bravo, Maury! It seems some of you have taken to my teachings after all!"

"Did you tell that black chick you married about us?" Maury pushed. "Did you tell her you can't die?"

Adam's grin vanished. "Leave her alone, Parkman! Trina has no part in this."

"That's what I wanted to hear," he smiled back. "The others want to tell her you're being locked up and let her sign divorce papers. Now we can tell her you died in a car accident or something. Let the poor girl get on with her life without you."

"And what happens when I get out of here? Hmm? What then?"

"You're not getting out, Adam. Not ever."

"You do realize I'm going to outlive each and every one of you, right? Not even Daniel's healing can stop natural aging."

"We've already made arrangements for that," Maury said coolly. "We just need to know if you have any other plans in motion, so we can put a stop to them."

Adam crossed his arms in defiance. "Like I would tell you," he scoffed.

"Yes, you will," Maury replied as Adam grabbed his head in pain.

Maury pushed his way through Adam's mind until his nose began to bleed. He barely noticed. When he thought he had finished, he released the man's mind.

"Just as I thought, you make all these plans, but you never put them into motion. We don't have anything to worry about from you," Maury snarled as he wiped the blood trickling from his nose.

Adam groaned as he pulled himself up from the floor. "You don't know the half of what I have planned for you people, Maury. You'll regret this. I will have my revenge on all of you and then all of your heirs. We aren't done. Not even close. If there's anything you report back to your master, Arthur, it's that. You, Shaw, Petrelli, Linderman, and especially Nakamura. You'll all pay for this!" he yelled. "Do you hear me? You'll all pay for this!"

"You don't scare me, Adam," he replied. "You never have."

Adam looked him square in the eye again. "Then why did you run away from New York? You, your mother, your 'Uncle Ben'?"

Maury's face went slack. "W-what? What do you know about Uncle Ben?"

Adam smiled. "I know a 'Boss Moroni' put a hit out on him and his family right about the time your father...shall we say, 'left'? The same time your abilities surfaced? I've been watching you. You and so many others, Parkman."

"Shut the hell up. Shut the hell up, damn you!"

"Do you think it a coincidence that Coyote Sands was even created, much less that so many people like us were sent there? I was recruiting my army, Parkman! You were all to be my army, if not for that damned Suresh and that weather witch!"

"You're a liar!"

"You're Jewish, surely you heard what happened during the last war? I was merely trying to prevent the same thing from happening to our kind, Parkman! I was trying to save us all so we could take over the world!" he yelled, and began laughing maniacally.

"You liar!" Maury argued back. "You're a sick sadistic bastard! Don't you touch my family ever again!" he yelled and pushed his mind at Adam with all his might.

He didn't even feel it when he crumpled to the floor.

-

"Maury? Maury, can you hear me?" came a familiar British accent.

"D-Daniel?" he asked groggily. "Wha' hap'n? Wher'm I?"

"Kaito asked me to check on Adam and I found you lying outside his cell, unconscious and bleeding." He held up a bloody handkerchief. "You burst a blood vessel in your head, fell and busted another in your nose. I healed you. Adam was out, too, but he can fend for himself," he shrugged. "You want to tell me what you were up to?"

Maury tried to sit up. He looked around to see he was in an office. Adam's former office. He shrugged and looked down at his hands. "Blacked out."

"Yes, but _why_ did you black out? What were you two discussing down there?"

Maury looked his friend in the eye. "Do you really want to know?"

"What were you saying yesterday about not trusting anyone, any more? Questioning motives?"

Maury sighed. "He made a confession to me. He set me up to wind up at Coyote Sands. A lot of us." He struggled with what came next. "He had the hit ordered on my family."

Daniel sat back, taking this in. "Then that would mean...."

Maury nodded. "He set up the whole camp. Everyone who was sent there was to be part of his personal army." He looked at Daniel again. "He told me after the war, he didn't want people like us persecuted the way we were--my people, Kaito's people, Charles' people--like we were all persecuted during the war. He was apparently going to turn all of us with abilities into his own private army. If not for Suresh and the weather girl starting that riot--"

"Wait, Dr. Suresh and a weather girl started the massacre?"

"That's what he claims," Maury explained. "I don't know, really. I had just nodded off that night when things went crazy and I hid, found the other two kids, kept us all hidden. Adam was a soldier there. He found us and we escaped with Suresh. That's where a lot of the research for the Formula came from, Adam recovered Suresh's and Zimmerman's notes. Victoria has been working off those notes all along. Suresh having a daughter with that virus ability, well, that has to be coincidence, doesn't it? Or maybe someone else in his family had an ability before that?"

"I don't know. We may never know, now," Daniel mused. "Do we tell the others?"

"Tell them what? A decades old plan for world domination was stopped by chance, and the main source of our research come from the notes of a man in another country we already brainwashed? There's nothing to tell them, Daniel."

Linderman mulled it over. "What if one of us picked up the idea for those plans, especially if this Formula finally provides a breakthrough? That we can give abilities to anyone we see fit? They would assemble an army just like Adam planned."

"It would throw the world into chaos," Maury agreed. He glanced back to his friend who appeared to be deep in thought. "What's wrong?"

"Someone must not find out about those plans, lest he decide to carry them out himself."

"Who are you talking about? Arthur?"

Daniel Linderman gave a grim nod. "Here, read my memory." He opened his mind to Maury, showing him the events that happened in Viet Nam with the 'Au Co' mission where he first met "Dallas" Petrelli.

Maury leaned back into the couch he was on. "Oy."

"You can say that again, my friend."

"I knew Arthur was a bit of a bastard, but that--savage is an understatement."

"He can be a bit too focused on his end objective. He'd destroy the world if he ever got the Formula to work."

"Then I guess it's a good thing Vic is leaving."

"What about that guy we have in LA? The one you took your son to, about his autism, was it? You don't think Zimmerman would be able to finish what she started, do you?"

"Matty's got dyslexia. No wonder you couldn't fix him," he chided.

"You didn't want me to, Maury," he reminded his friend.

"Ruth doesn't want any 'miracle cures' for the boy," he replied. "Zimmerman's only run a few brain scans in addition to my probing to see if I can help Matty out. Matt thinks it's a big overwhelming. He's not too fond of Doc Z," Maury explained, then thought about the question at hand a moment. "No, they're close, but Vic mentioned to me they seem to be missing something unique, a catalyst or something. She asked me if we had anyone on file who could manipulate bio-energy like her or yourself. Neither of you seem to have what she needs."

"So it's not just a healing factor to make it work?"

"No, but Kaito has met someone with a similar healing ability in Tokyo, but I don't think he'd be willing to let her try."

"You mean that one little lady he's been dating back home?"

"What's that they say about dipping your pen in company ink?" Maury chuckled.

"Don't!" they said together, laughing.

"You know, Arthur was really disappointed about Nathan not having abilities. You don't think--?"

"Angela would never let him," Maury replied. "Not to her boys."

"Right, right," Daniel nodded, then looked at his friend. "Boys?" he questioned.

Maury froze for a second. "uh...What she said earlier, 'children', plural. Sh-she knows she's going to have another child--a boy--someday," he blurted out nervously.

"She's pregnant now, you mean?"

"No, not now. She thinks it will be a few years, yet."

Daniel took this in, not entirely believing it. "If you say so, Maury. I won't say anything if you don't." He winked.

Maury regarded him a moment. _Shit! _Did he know? Better change the subject. "Are we going to sit here all day yakking? I'm starving."

"I'm a bit peckish, myself. What do you say we hit that diner over in Midland, French Toast?"

"Burnt Toast," Maury corrected. "Yeah, I like that place. Cute blonde waitress there, Lynette."

"You are incorrigible, my friend," Daniel laughed, slapping Maury on the back.

"I'm married, not dead," he replied. "I can still look, just not touch," he winked as they exited the office.

"Great, I have no such compunctions about asking her out, then!" he laughed.

TBC_______________


	5. 1981 Gray Matter

HEROES: Company Matters

Characters: Maury, Matt, Zimmerman, special guest stars

Disclaimer: I own nuttink! Just playing with Tim Kring's intellectual copyrighted toys.

-

**Los Angeles, 1981**

"You doin' okay, Matty?" Maury asked his son as they waited in Dr. Zimmerman's office. He was tempted to go through the man's files to see what else the 'good doctor' had been up to of late. New 'prospects' and such for the Company. Not in front of Matt, though. He could come back later for that.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Matt grumbled.

Maury knew better. Matt never did like the constant testing his father made him take. Of course, he had explained to Matt over and over that it was to help him understand his schoolwork better. Some of the kids at school had teased him for being 'stupid' before they were able to diagnose his dyslexia. He knew one neighbor boy, Brad, had taken Matt's side and kept the other kids from causing too much grief. But Zimmerman kept pushing Maury to bring Matt in in hopes of finding out how to cure him. What was that they said about double-edged swords? And those who lived by the sword....

Maury didn't like Zimmerman and knew Matt could tell, as he shared the same silent distaste for the man. Fortunately, Matt didn't have to suffer the same trauma Maury and his friends had when they had first met this man, and, he hoped, he never would. He even made sure Matt studied extra about what had happened during the Second World War. "Never forget," he had admonished.

Maury always wondered if Matt had developed telepathy or even mild empathy, but was somehow able to hide it from him. He and Charles had developed a working rapport, but he couldn't sense anything similar from his son in the near decade they had been testing him. He didn't like to, but he occasionally probed Matt's mind to make sure he wasn't keeping a secret like that from him. So far, so good, he was relieved.

He looked down at his son, who was just as bored as he was. "Y'know, it's Thursday?" Maury offered. "You know what that means?"

Matt turned with a hopeful gleam in his eye. "New comics?"

Maury chuckled in response. "You know what else is coming up, don't you?"

The burly teen frowned.

"Gotta earn 'em first, Matty. You know Rabbi's trying to help you learn for your Bar Mitzvah. You gotta be a man about it." Maury ruffled his son's unruly hair. "And cut this mop before the big day, too?"

Matt groaned and shuffled his feet.

"That's what being a man is about, son. Time to start putting work before pleasure, learning before comics and the beach. You're thirteen, now. Time to start growing up."

Matt sulked even more. Maury caught a stream of thought that he hadn't expected the boy to know by his age.

"Doesn't mean you have to give up the drums, tho," he said with a smirk.

Matt perked up at this, smiling.

"You had to learn something you enjoy, right?" Matt nodded. "Well, you'll find out later on that the things you learn now will help you enjoy life later on. Either that, or you get yourself a job and start paying the bills," he teased.

"Aw dad, who's gonna give me a job?" Matt argued.

"Kid, we're in LA. There's plenty of child stars whose careers were over by the time they were your age. Shirley Temple, Beaver Cleaver, Eddie Munster, Wednesday and Pugsly, you name it. Okay, it looks like Opie made it, but he's a rare case."

"aw, da-ad!" Matt laughed before they were interrupted by Jonas Zimmerman entering his office.

"Guten Tag," he greeted them in his still-heavy German accent as he took his seat behind his desk and flipped open the file he brought in. He looked up to see two matching dark stares were returned.

"Apologies," he said, raising his hand. "Sometimes I forget myself, eh?" he chuckled.

Maury caught another comment the man made to himself. He cleared his throat in annoyance. Zimmerman glanced to Maury and blushed.

"Ah, ze test results haff come back negative once again, Mr. Parkman," he quickly announced, hoping to change the subject. "As long as you continue to deny," he paused and nervously glanced to Matt before continuing to Maury, "zat avenue of treatment we discussed, then there ist little I can do for your son."

Matt gave his father a curious glance. _What treatment?_ he wondered.

Maury caught his son's question, but addressed Zimmerman instead. "I've told you before, I refuse to allow my son to become a guinea pig like that," he said sternly. "I don't want any false hope or any New Age-y cures for him, and that's _final_."

"But dad--" Matt started to protest.

"Go outside and wait for me, Matt," he ordered, the anger growing in his voice. The teen sullenly rose and left the room. Maury stood and leaned on Zimmerman's desk. "Don't you _ever_ mention what we do in front of my boy _ever_ again," he growled. "Do you understand me, Doc?"

Zimmerman nodded his head shakily. "M-my apologies, Mr. Parkman--"

"Shut the hell up, old man," he ordered. "I already told Danny he's not to touch my son," he warned before taking a step back, standing straight and turning to business. "Now, Arthur wants the files on any new talent you have, pronto. Or do you want to see your kids, ever again?"

"You don't haff ze right--"

"I have every right, Doc," Maury informed the man. "You don't want your family to know what you've done in the name of science, do you? I'm sure your daughter--which one did you get, now? I'm sure she'd be thrilled to learn the truth about herself...and her sisters, don't you think?"

"You leafe Barbara out of zis!" he snapped. "She hast done nuttink to--"

"And let's keep it that way, shall we?" Maury cut him off. "The files? And don't forget the ones on both of your kids, now."

Zimmerman scowled and turned in his chair, opening a drawer and removing a thick binder, handing it to the burly telepath. _Warum empfängt Ihr Kind besondere Sorgfalt über meinen Kindern? _he thought as he did so.

_(Why does your child rate special treatment over mine?) _

"Because I'm not a sadistic freak who likes to experiment on little kids, _Herr Doktor_," Maury replied angrily. "Angie may have let Arthur overrule her on Nathan, but none of you will _ever_ touch _my _son like that."

Zimmerman scowled in defiance.

"Everything in here?"

The doctor nodded, then felt a sudden heaviness squeezing his mind. He grabbed his head in pain.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, losing patience.

Zimmerman shakily reached into another drawer and produced a handful of computer diskettes marked with a familiar number code and that familiar helix. Maury grabbed them and dropped them into the folder before placing it in his own briefcase.

"I'm sure Arthur will be in touch," he said and left the room. He found Matt in the waiting room, glancing through a Highlights magazine, frowning. "You ready?" he asked gruffly, trying to keep the disgust from his voice.

Matt nodded and followed his father out of the office, waving goodbye to the receptionist.

In the car, Maury could 'hear' Matt trying to phrase how he could broach the subject of this "alternative treatment" that had been mentioned. He sighed and broke the ice.

"It won't work, Matty," he said.

Matt was taken off-guard. "W-what?"

"The treatment he was talking about. It won't work for you."

"How do you know?" he groused.

"It's not really a physical thing to be cured, son," he explained. "That treatment is for physical injuries, like cuts and broken bones. Stuff like that."

"So what's wrong with me, then?"

Maury mused over how to put it best. "Bad wiring?"

"Huh?"

"Ah, geez, Matty," he grumbled. "It's like, uh, um--" he fumbled for the words, then glanced down at his dashboard. "You know how the car engine works to make the car go?" Matt half-nodded. "It's like the timing belt or spark plugs aren't tuned up. The car will run, but it'll take a bit more effort to get where you're going, get it?"

"So why don't you take me to the shop and fix me?" he asked.

Maury looked over at his son and gave him a sad smile. "Sometimes, you can't fix it in the shop, son," he said, reaching over to grab his son's hand and squeezing it. "Besides, we can always trade you in for a model that works," he joked.

Matt's eyes went wide with fear for a moment. "You wouldn't?"

Maury smiled. "Yeah, you're right. No one would want a busted junker like you, any way," he teased, ruffling Matt's hair.

"Aw, da-ad!" Matt laughed, shoving his father's arm away, then grabbing it and hugging it around himself. "You are kidding, right?"

Maury hugged his son close, trying not to swerve. "Maybe," he winked. Both laughed, but Maury could tell his son's heart wasn't in it. Time to cheer him up, let Ruth get mad at him again. "You hungry?" he asked.

Matt shrugged. "A little."

"How about an Apple?"

Matt gave his father a sideways look. "Golden?"

Maury smiled back and pointed out the window to a storefront coming up: Golden Apple Comics.

"Thanks, dad," Matt said, cheering up some.

"Don't tell your mother," Maury warned as they entered the store, Matt running to look for his favorite characters.

-

"You know he has enough trouble reading without you forcing those funny books at him all the time," Ruth scolded her husband as the pair returned home, Matt immediately bolting for his room with a small stack under his arm.

"You know how he gets when we visit Doc Zimmerman," Maury replied, kissing her cheek. "It cheers him up."

"But he doesn't do his homework," she complained. "He just looks at those things instead."

"At least he's looking at something he enjoys," he defended his son as he hugged her close, sending a dirty thought.

"And what about studying for his ceremony?" she countered, pushing him away with a stern look.

Maury sighed in defeat and headed for Matt's room. "Hey, Matty, which book you got?" he asked, knocking lightly.

"Green Lan'ern...um, C-c-corpse?" he fumbled the title.

"Excuse me!?" Maury took a better look at the cover. "_Corps_. 'Tales of the Green Lantern Corps'. Unless there's an 'e' on the end, the 'p-s' is silent, kinda like an apple core, or just like the Marine Corps, Matty."

Matt gave his father a blank look before explaining what was in it. "Anyway, they're all fighting some big skeleton guy, like in that Jason and Astronauts movie."

"What?" he asked, confused by what Matt was talking about. The teen showed him the book's villain. "Nekron? Bleh," he chuckled at the giant, evil skeleton, then made the connection as to what his son had been referring to. "That was Jason and the _Argonauts_, Matty. Astronauts go up into space, like your Green Lantern, there," he chuckled.

"He's a _cop_, dad, not an astronaut" Matt said, rolling his eyes before asking, "There's a difference?"

"Cop, huh?" Maury raised an eyebrow. "Sure, the Argonauts were sailors on the ocean back in ancient history, named after their boat, the Argo. Astronauts are spacemen...um, up in space. You've seen them go up in that new shuttle, right?" he explained, then noticed Ruth standing in the doorway. "What? I'm teaching him."

"Tell that to Rabbi next weekend," she said and turned away. "Dinner's on the table in an hour."

Father and son shared a dour look. "Looks like you better study, then we'll look over your comics, Matty."

Matt groaned. "Fine, but you better help me!"

-

"You're gonna be there tomorrow, right?" Matt asked, pleading with his father, blocking his exit.

Maury sighed and put his suitcase down. "I'm not gonna lie to you, Matty. I'll be there as soon as I can, alright?"

Matt scowled. "You promised!" he screamed and ran to his bedroom, slamming the door.

Maury started after him, but knew there was nothing he could say to ease his son's anger. He looked to Ruth, who stood there, arms crossed, trying not to show how upset she was with him. He went to hug her, but she turned her attention to their son's door. Maury nodded and stepped over to it.

"Matt?" he called through the door.

No answer.

"Matt? I'm sorry. I really am," he said. "I'd be here if I could, but I'm needed back east. I have to go, Matt."

Muffled sobs.

"I'm sorry, Matty," he repeated into the door. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise."

Still no answer. But he heard, _"Liar! I hate you!" _angrily directed at him.

He turned to Ruth and held up his hands. She nodded and hugged him. "Come back soon and safe," she whispered as he kissed her a reluctant goodbye.

_Love you, boy_, he thought to his son as he left.

-

"I'm missing my boy's Bar Mitzvah," Maury groused as the group met at the rendezvous point for their next assignment.

"Thirteen already?" Daniel asked. "My, how time flies."

Maury nodded and tossed a furtive glance at Angela, who looked away, pretending she was interested in checking her ammo pack was full.

"Stifle it, you two," Arthur ordered. "We've got an unknown killer slashing heads open of possible people like ourselves. The main reason we know about him is he killed some of our potential recruits we were watching. Carlos has some sketches of what this man may look like."

He nodded and the Hispanic man started handing out leaflets to the others of a lean man with a thick leonine mane of hair and hollow eyes.

"No one goes alone. If you see this man, give Charles, Maury, or myself a shout so we can alert the others. Usual groupings, watch your backs." He glanced to Linderman, "Keep an eye out for Angela's back?"

Angela shot her husband a dirty look as Daniel gave his fellow soldier a curt nod and followed the man's wife to Charles' car for the search. The pair gave each other a knowing look as Charles pulled out. Arthur watched as they left, then joined Bob and Harry in his car.

As the group spread out over the area, cruising the streets Carlos and Angela had predicted they would find their prey, Maury scanned the area, looking for any distinctive thoughts. He turned to Carlos, "You think we'll wrap this up tonight?"

"I can't say, Maury," Carlos replied. "You know, you always ask me questions like this. I never give you the answer."

Maury smiled as he turned the corner. "Couldn't hurt to hope you'll tell me something useful one day?"

Carlos sighed and pulled out his notebook. "Fine, but I'm only doing this because it's Matteo's birthday."

Maury glanced over only to see Carlos' eyes glaze over and his pen begin flying over the paper. He sighed and sent out another mental pulse. Nothing.

He glanced in the rearview mirror. "You're being awfully quiet, tonight, Kaito. Anything wrong?"

Kaito regarded him a moment before answering. "Not really."

"Kaito...?" he asked again.

The Japanese man gave a weary sigh. "Just your mentioning your son's birthday has me thinking about my family. How much I would rather be with them than hunting a killer."

"I think we can all share that sentiment, Kaito," Maury agreed. "How is Ishi coping with you being away so much?"

"She says she is fine with it, _but_," he sighed. "We both know it's not the truth."

"Yeah," Maury agreed. "Ruth doesn't like it when I have to leave on short notice. Matty even less, especially this weekend."

"What do you call it, Bar Mitzu?"

"Bar Mitzvah," he corrected. "I'm not much on the religion, but, you know, it's good for him to be raised with certain family traditions. Matty's officially a man in the eyes of the Temple, now," he chuckled. "Makes a man start to feel old, Y'know?"

Kaito chuckled in agreement. "You are proud of him?"

Maury looked in the mirror at his friend again. "C'mon, I'm his father, of course I am! How's your little ones? Kimmy, is it, and Hero?"

"Kimiko," Kaito corrected. "She is a beautiful little girl, like her mother," he beamed. "Who will probably have many suitors when the time comes for her to start dating," he chuckled.

"Want me to scare them off for ya?" Maury laughed.

"No, that will not be necessary," Kaito chuckled as he glanced down a passing alley.

"Can I ask ya, what if they manifest? What then?"

"You worry about Matthew manifesting?"

Maury sighed, "Always. I had to reassure him again last week that the whole dyslexia wouldn't screw him up. Doc Zimmerman mentioned bringing him to Danny for a cure again."

"He said this in front of the boy?"

"He mentioned 'alternative treatment', which got Matt worked up," he explained. "Danny knows not to touch my boy without my permission, but Doc don't care. Fucking Nazi."

"Where did we find this Zimmerman?"

Maury's face grew dark. "Coyote Sands," he replied coldly.

"Ah. Keep your enemies closer, is that it?"

"We should'a kept Suresh and wiped this guy's mind," Maury groused.

"Why didn't you?"

"Adam," he replied grimly. "He was the one who smuggled me out when he took Suresh out after the massacre." Maury hesitated, remembering Adam's request of him in a new use of his telepathic power. "I don't know who did it, but they wiped Suresh clean of his time there," he lied. "After that, the government sent him back home to India, since he was useless to them. We thought we were done with him forever."

"Until his daughter manifested?" Kaito finished. "What of the other Suresh child? Has he manifested yet?"

"Nah, we're still keeping an eye on the family, but the kid doesn't look like he will. If he does, it will probably be something useless, I hope. Let the kids grow up and be normal, I say. Nothing wrong with that."

"No, there is no dishonor in our children being normal," Kaito agreed.

"So you don't think she's gonna manifest?"

"Who, Kimiko?" Maury nodded. "It doesn't look like it at this time. In fact--"

"Whoa!" Carlos exclaimed suddenly.

Maury almost swerved off the street into a parked car. "Geez! Give a guy a heart attack, why don'tcha?"

"I am sorry," he replied groggily. Trying to see what he drew in the dim light. Maury reached down and turned the interior light on for the artist. "Dios Mio."

"What? What is it?" Maury asked. He glanced over to see essentially two rows of people, lines from the top row connecting the bottom row. A faint circular arc connecting three of the lower men. Most of them were bust shots, head and torso, giving a few clues. Several had darkened eyes, one had a slashed forehead.

"I-I am not sure?" he replied. He glanced back to Kaito. "Tell me, what do you make of this?" he asked, handing the sketch into the backseat.

Kaito studied the drawing in the dim interior light of the car. "Hmm, it appears to me that you have drawn several of us in the top row, the three of us, the Petrelli's, and...the man we are seeking?" He glanced to the sketch he was given earlier for confirmation. "This second row could be our children?"

Maury perked up at this. "_Our_ kids? Let me see!" He quickly pulled over under a street light and parked the car.

The three men got out and looked at the drawing in the slightly stronger light of the streetlight.

Kaito made the connections. "This looks like Carlos and Isaac," he pointed out the first pair, the adult Isaac apparently having the forehead scar. "This is our quarry, this would be his son," he motioned from the first man to another with thick eyebrows below him. A clockface below the latter. "Next are the Petrelli's--"

Carlos interrupted him. "Wait, are you saying our killer goes after my son?"

Kaito looked at the first four figures again. "Or it could be his son takes after him and crosses paths with Isaac in the future. You drew Isaac as an adult, here. I wouldn't worry quite yet."

"My son is a little Niño," Carlos protested.

"So that means you will have plenty of time to keep him safe," Maury countered. "Go on, Kaito."

He nodded and returned to the drawing. "As I was saying, this would be The Petrelli's, Arthur and Angela over Nathan and young Peter, next to Matthew and yourself, Maury." He glanced up at his friend, curious about the arcs connecting the three adults and the three boys, Nathan to Matt to Peter. It almost seemed as if Angela was at the center? Maury noted this, but didn't clarify, so he didn't inquire further. Kaito pointed out the last pair, "Myself and my son round out the group with another clock by Hiro, hmm." He made silent note that this clock had compass points behind it as well.

"Looks like it's more between both our boys, Kaito," Maury noted. He looked between the two clocks. "Actually, it looks like this mystery kid broke his clock," he pointed out a scratch on that clock face. "While yours is backwards? What's up with that?"

"I do not know, but it must be of some significance to them," Kaito mused.

"So basically, this means our kids will be connected when they grow up?" Maury asked the two men. He was making note of the fact their kids' clothing happened to give clues as to what they would be when they grew up. It looked like Peter in hospital scrubs, while Matt and Nathan wore suits, but his son also had something on his dark shirt, a symbol. Almost like a--no, it couldn't be?

"Carlos, what do you make of this?" he asked, pointing to Matt's chest.

"I'm not sure, some sort of club insignia or badge?"

Kaito leaned over for a better view. "Yes, definitely a badge of some sort," he agreed.

Maury began chuckling. Carlos and Kaito gave each other quizzical expressions. "Que pasa?"

Maury glanced at Carlos. "Nothing, it's a family joke," he said, beaming with pride as he looked at the sketch once more. "Uncle Ben would be so proud of you, Matty," he whispered under his breath.

Kaito looked back down to the sketch, beaming at his own son. A familiar sword strapped to his back with a very familiar kanji embedded on it's hilt.

Carlos gave the drawing another look as well. Something buzzed in his head, images swirled in the empty space of paper. He fought the urge to draw. "You know Maury, I don't think this one is finished. If I could complete it for you later?"

Maury smiled. "Sure! Who am I to say when an artist is finished with his work?" he chuckled. "Just not out here, maybe after we catch this guy, alright?"

Carlos nodded and the trio climbed back into the car, Kaito behind the wheel, this time. Carlos began another, smaller sketch of two figures.

-

They had the man cornered, each careful not to provoke him any more than they had to. He spotted Carlos first and the Hispanic suddenly found himself pinned against the wall.

"Por favor, señor, we mean you no harm!" he cried out as a paper fell from his jacket.

The bearded man caught the paper in mid-air and brought it close, unfolded it and glared at Carlos again. "What is this?" he demanded. "Who is this supposed to be?"

"I do not know, señor," he replied. "I only draw what I see, I do not understand it all." He tried to keep his attention on his attacker to prevent him from seeing Maury approach from the rear.

"This is me!" the man declared. "Who is this other man?"

"I do not know!" Carlos repeated as Maury drew nearer.

"What is this wire on my face?" the man asked. "Why draw a rabbit?"

"Who the fuck cares?" Maury asked, pressing his pistol against the man's head. "Put my friend down or you'll never know."

The man raised his hands in surrender as Carlos slid down to a shaky landing, massaging his throat as if he had been strangled.

"What's your name, buddy?" Maury asked.

"What does it matter to you?" the man replied.

"Just want to know what to put on your tombstone if you try any funny stuff. Our friends will be here in a minute," he informed the man. "You can answer us now or Arthur will force it out of you."

"Arthur? Is he your 'bad cop'? How many friends are we talking about?" the man asked casually, almost amused.

Maury hesitated. The guy knew how to work someone. "Enough to take you out," he replied coolly.

The man smiled. "No as dumb as you look, eh?"

Maury glared, then heard a buzzing in his ears. He looked to Carlos, who had a dazed look in his eyes. "W-what is that?" he asked as he fought a sudden drowsiness.

The man turned and faced Maury. He was whistling a vibration, affecting both men. He tucked the paper into his shirt pocket and reached for Maury.

Thunder suddenly shook the air and the whistling stopped. Maury suddenly felt clear-headed.

"The next one goes between your eyes," Kaito said somewhere behind him.

Maury faked being drowsy for a second longer and dropped to one knee. The man looked down at him and Maury caught his eye. _"Sleep."_

The man stumbled for a second, unsure of himself.

"_Sleep_," Maury pushed again, harder, then jumped up, throwing his weight into the leaner man.

The man stumbled back against the wall, hitting his head as Carlos grabbed him, lowering him to the floor. He was out. Carlos quickly pulled out his handcuffs and locked the man's hands behind his back. Kaito stepped forward and produced the tranquilizer needle.

"Thanks, Kaito," Maury said, getting back up. "Good thing you decided to stay outside in case he bolted."

Kaito nodded. "It seemed the right thing to do."

Maury regarded the man a moment. "Who the hell wants to kill people like us?"

"Competition?" Kaito replied.

"I guess Darwin was right," Maury agreed as he helped Carlos pick up the man to take to the car. "Survival of the fittest."

A quick mental call to Charles and Arthur let the other teams know the killer was now in their custody. When they arrived, Arthur chastised them for not waiting, but Maury's team filled Arthur in on their takedown, while Bob altered the man's shirt into iron, thereby preventing him from slipping free easily.

"He has telekinesis and a hypnotic whistle?" Arthur asked.

"That's what we know of," Kaito replied. "He could have a multitude of abilities we've never encountered before."

Arthur regarded the man a moment. "Give me a moment alone with him," he said, brushing off his compatriots.

Kaito and Maury gave each other wary looks as Arthur approached the car they had placed the man in. He sat in the front seat and turned to face the man.

"I know you're faking it, Mr. Gray."

Samson Gray opened his eyes. "How could you tell?"

Arthur shrugged. "Respiration, minor reactions to me getting into the car," he replied. "Oh, and I can read your mind."

"You possess all those talents?"

"And more," Arthur informed him. "Just like you. How do you take your abilities?"

"How do you know I take abilities?" he countered.

"You've left a trail of victims with their heads sliced open," Arthur explained. "Some of those people we were watching, waiting for them to manifest. You got to them first."

Samson's eyes narrowed. "Why were you watching them?"

"Think of us as policing our own kind, Mr. Gray. Keeping the bad apples like yourself from harming others if we can."

"Who appointed you judge jury, and, if I may be so bold, executioner?"

"The government knows about us, tried to contain some of us in hopes of 'curing' those of us with abilities."

"Makes sense," he mused. "Someone was bound to slip up and blow our cover eventually, especially with this growing reliance on technology the past few years. They took you?"

"No, not me, but some of my companions barely survived a massacre. Some of them still have nightmares about it."

Samson considered this a moment. "So you decided to take matters into your own hands?"

"Would you rather have one of us, or one of _them_ hunting you down? At least we can provide some understanding to your abilities. Can they?"

"Then maybe you can help me understand something. There's a piece of paper in my pocket that I took from your Hispanic friend. Tell me what you make of it."

Arthur read his mind to see he was telling the truth, then reached into Gray's shirt pocket with his telekinesis, slipping out the folded paper from the now-metallic creases of clothing. He frowned at the image he saw.

"Not to your liking?" Samson inquired.

Arthur glanced out the window. Maury then approached the car.

"You needed to see me?" he asked as he climbed behind the wheel.

Arthur handed him the drawing. "What were you up to?" he demanded.

Maury glanced at the sketch of an older Samson Gray and the thick browed man that had appeared on the earlier sketch Carlos had drawn. "This is the first I've seen of this, Arthur."

"You recognize the other man, don't you?"

"Who is he?" Samson asked, impatient.

Maury glanced back to the bound man, then to Arthur. "Carlos drew another sketch. Several of us...and our kids." He watched Arthur raise an eyebrow at this. "We didn't really get a chance to discuss it, and Carlos said he wasn't finished with it, but he drew this guy near him," he explained, jerking his thumb back at Samson.

"You have kids, too?" Samson asked.

"_shit!" _Maury snapped, looking at Arthur as he realized his slip.

"Relax, Maury," Arthur replied. "You were saying?"

"We don't know," he explained. "Carlos said the drawing wasn't complete, but the kids were all adults in the sketch. Even the little ones." He gave Arthur a quick mental image of what he remembered seeing.

"Interesting," he replied, then glanced back to Samson.

"What?" Samson asked.

"You have a son, too?" Arthur inquired.

Samson's jaw clenched. He looked out the window. "Not anymore. He was in the way, my brother took him in, thought it would save his marriage, having a kid. Good riddance to them all, honestly."

"You gave your kid away, just like that?" Maury asked incredulously.

"Sold him, dumped his mother," Samson chuckled at the thought of that afternoon. Maury was swinging at him before he realized what had happened.

"You sick bastard!" he cried. "You sold your son and killed your wife in front of the kid? What kind of sick fuck are you?"

Arthur struggled to keep his comrade from climbing over the car seat, but the others had noticed something was going on and started approaching the vehicle. "Settle down! Let him go!" Arthur barked, as he telekinetically opened the door behind Maury and tried pushing him out.

Linderman ran up and caught his friend's shoulders before he fully hit the ground. "What's going on here?"

"That sick fuck!" Maury shouted again. "I'll kill him!"

By this time, Arthur had exited the car and approached Maury struggling against Daniel and now Carlos. "You'll do nothing of the sort," he ordered. "Stand down!"

"Do you know what he did?" Maury yelled, sharing Gray's sordid memory with his friends. All three were struck silent for a moment until Arthur took charge.

"You go back to the rendezvous, I'll handle Gray without you, Maury," he ordered.

"But--!"

"Go!" he ordered again, pointing at the other car. "Daniel, Bob, you're with me," he said, motioning his army buddy and alchemist to his side.

Carlos had to push Maury back to their car where Angela, Charles, Harry, and Kaito waited. "We're to go back to the meeting point, wait for Arthur to join us," Carlos explained.

The others nodded their understanding. Angela took a long disapproving look back at her husband before joining Kaito in their car.

As soon as the others left, Arthur pulled Samson from his car and threw him to the ground. "Now, what other powers do you have?" he asked, reaching for the scraggly haired man, now filling with fear.

"What are you doing?" he asked as Arthur grabbed his head. _"NO!"_

"Just doing the same to you that you have done to others," he replied as he felt the energy flowing between them. "Some of these abilities could prove quite useful in the future," he explained. "Others, not so much."

Daniel Linderman hated this part, but was finding himself not quite as disturbed as he thought he should be of late. That was disturbing in itself. He knew Arthur only asked him to stay in case Gray suddenly lashed out with a surprise ability. One of the drawbacks to having what Arthur deemed a 'low level ability', especially when compared to Adam's. Why heal others when you can heal yourself to the point of immortality? It was no real secret Arthur wanted Adam's ability, but luckily, Angela had convinced him he shouldn't take it. So far.

Daniel glanced over to Bob, who had a very intrigued look on his face. The balding man had few talents, and was thoroughly under Arthur's thumb. Daniel was finding it harder and harder to stomach the man who had weaseled his way into being Arthur's flunky for all the wrong reasons. Victoria had already cut all her ties to the Company except for Angela, and he now wondered how long he would be forced to work with Arthur. Then again, better to keep your enemies closer, as they say.

Samson's scream broke him from his reverie.

"Is that all you have?" Arthur asked.

"No," Gray panted. "You haven't taken my first ability," he cautioned.

Even Arthur could sense the man was warning him against it. "Is there something wrong with that one?"

"It only leads to a hunger for more," the man gasped. "More power, more knowledge, more abilities. It's an insatiable hunger for everything you hold dear. A price that will cost you everything!"

"That sounds promising."

"That's why I sold my son, killed his mother," Samson argued. "To protect him from my fate. She argued, I lost my temper and killed her. That's what happened that day."

Daniel interjected. "She didn't know you were selling him?"

"No," he replied, breathing heavy now that he didn't have telekinesis to help lift his iron shirt, whose weight was now pressing on his chest. "She thought I was just meeting my brother, she hit me when I told her I sold him. I-I lashed out," he panted, fighting the weight. "It was a reflex, I didn't mean to kill her."

"But you did?" Arthur asked.

"Y-yes, and then I saw him standing there, w-watching," he explained, breathless. "In a panic, I-I shoved her out of the car, l-left her to die in front of him and l-left him behind."

"Your brother never told the police what happened to his sister-in-law?"

"I don't know," he panted. "Please, I can't breathe!"

Arthur nodded to Bob, who reached down and turned most of the iron shirt back into cotton, except for the sleeves, which he kept iron to contain Gray's arms.

"Th-thank you," he gasped. "What are you going to do, now?"

"Now? You're pretty worthless to us without any real power," Arthur explained. "But you can't keep killing people for their abilities."

"You don't mean?" he asked, fear rising.

"Like you said, judge, jury...and executioners."

"N-no! please!" he begged, throwing himself at Arthur's feet. "I promise I'll behave! I'll try not to kill anyone else!"

Arthur turned to his lieutenants. "What do you say?"

"How many have you killed already?" Daniel asked.

"I-I don't know! I don't remember!" he begged.

"Did you give them the mercy I'm sure they asked for?"

Samson froze, then hung his head. "No," he said quietly.

"Then it's settled, we pass sentence and the sentence is--"

_WHAM!_

Samson swung his iron-clad arms into Arthur, knocking him into Bob, sending them both to the ground, unconscious. He turned on Linderman, ready to strike again, only to find his enemy had already drawn his gun.

"Let's not make this any harder than it has to be, shall we?" Linderman asked.

"What are you saying?"

"I saw what you did, taking back your abilities by touching Arthur's foot. What did you take back?"

Samson narrowed his eyes and took a mental stock. "Feels like TK, a few others."

"Is that enough to make sure you don't kill again?"

"Maybe," Gray replied. "Enough to get away from you, that's for sure."

"Then let's call this a draw and--" Daniel Linderman didn't get to finish his statement. He stood there motionless for a moment before dropping to the ground.

"What in--?" Samson started to ask, then found himself getting drowsy. "What? No!" he argued as he saw Maury re-enter the clearing. He would never remember that night the rest of his life, only that somehow, several of his abilities left him, and the desire to acquire more had nearly dissipated as well.

-

"That was a very foolish thing to do, Maury," Daniel cautioned his friend as he drove the trio back to the rendezvous point.

"Just be glad Kaito and Angela convinced me to stay behind," Maury replied. "Saving your asses should be thanks enough. Just remind Arthur of that when I let him and Bob wake up," he groused.

"You're playing a dangerous game with him, you know that, don't you?"

"Ain't none of us can claim to be Mary Poppins, Danny," he replied. "Now, the less you know, the better."

Daniel sighed. "Very well, if you must."

"Sorry, Danny," Maury said as he reached over and touched his friend's head. Linderman immediately slumped over, the memory of Maury coming to their rescue already forgotten.

"I gotta get the fuck outta this life," he said to his slumbering friend, patting his shoulder. "Not just for me, but for Matty and Ruth. I hope you can understand that, Danny."

When he awoke, Arthur Petrelli was beyond incensed, but Angela managed to calm him down for the time being. Maury hung his head in false modesty, protesting he had saved the trio's lives, which Daniel found himself siding with Maury on, against Arthur.

Maury, Charles and Angela exchanged looks, all knowing that something had changed that night and the Group would soon pay the price once again.

TBC____________


	6. 1981 Inquisition

**HEROES: Inquisition **

**Characters: Maury, Matt, Twelve, surprise guest stars**

**Disclaimer: I own nuttink! Just playing with Tim Kring's intellectual copyrighted toys.**

**-**

**Los Angeles, 1981**

Maury Parkman returned to the small apartment he shared with his wife and son in the wee hours of the morning. A small pile of gifts lay on the couch. Standing on a tripod next to the couch was the video camera Maury had bought last Hanukkah, hooked to the television. A discarded yarmulke lay on top of it.

Maury picked up the cap and sighed. He went to his son's room and found him fast asleep. "I'm sorry I missed your party, Matty," he whispered, kissing his son's head.

Matt stirred, but didn't wake.

Maury quietly exited the room and made his way to his own bedroom. He undressed as quietly as he could and slipped under the covers beside his wife.

"Maury?" she softly moaned.

"Shh, go back to sleep."

"What time is it?"

"Too late to discuss it, now," he said, curling up behind her.

"He's mad at you, you know?"

"Not as mad as I am at myself for missing his special night," he sighed.

"Spend the day with him tomorrow, make it up to him." she turned her head to him. "The video is set up, ready to play."

"I saw," he replied, kissing her shoulder and hugging her tight. "We'll watch it with him tomorrow."

She regarded him a moment. "What happened?"

Maury mulled over what to tell her. "Nothing important," he lied.

Dissatisfied, but knowing he wouldn't share more, she rolled back over and drifted back off to sleep.

Maury woke late the next day and shuffled into the kitchen for breakfast. "Where's our little man?"

Ruth looked up from the morning paper. "Already gone to the beach with Brad."

"Did you tell him I was home?"

"You left your suitcase by the door," she reminded him.

Maury glanced over and realized his mistake.

"You're lucky he doesn't have heat vision like Superman. We would have had the fire department over, first thing this morning."

"So he's still mad?"

"Yep."

"Are you?"

"Are you going to make this up to him?"

"I'm trying, Ruth. I'm trying."

She regarded him coolly, stood up and kissed him on the head before finally fixing him a late breakfast.

It was early evening before Matt returned home. Maury was sitting on the couch reading the paper yet when he burst in, Brad following close behind.

"Hey, Matty! How's the new man of the house?" Maury greeted him.

Matt stopped and stared at his father. Brad looked uneasy. "Uh, you want I should go, man?"

Maury stood and approached the boys. "No need for that, you know you're welcome here, Brad," he said.

Matt stared daggers at his father. "Yeah, I think you might wanna leave."

Brad was unsure of what to do.

Maury grabbed both boys by the shoulders. "Come on, Matty, we can watch your party video and you can tell me what I missed," he cajoled his son as he led them across the kitchen toward the couch. "You know, point out the cute girls and such," he chuckled.

Matt tore free and headed to his room. "I don't think so."

Maury tried to reach after his son, but dropped his empty hand in despair. He tightened his grip on Brad's shoulder without realizing it.

"Mr. Parkman, you're hurting me!" he squeaked out, pulling free and rubbing his shoulder.

"Oh geez, sorry about that kid," he apologized. "You okay?"

Brad nodded, still rubbing his shoulder.

"Wanna watch the video with me?" Brad shrugged. "C'mon, we'll pop a couple sodas and you can point out all the cute girls. Whaddya say?"

Brad shrugged again and dropped down on the couch.

"You do know how to work this thing, right?"

Brad set up the camera playback as Maury grabbed the sodas. "Last chance, Matt!" he called out as he settled down on the couch with his son's friend.

No answer.

Maury shrugged and motioned to Brad to play the tape. He spent half the time watching Matt's door to see if he would come out, but he didn't.

Once past the "boring part" (which Maury felt himself tear up at in a moment of parental pride), Brad had taken Maury seriously and pointed out all the "hot girls", or at least, all the girls who it appeared had started developing. Maury got more of a chuckle out of what Brad was thinking it would be like with them. The kid had apparently seen his father's porn stash and had a good idea of what awaited him in a few years. Yes, this one was going to be a handful, he thought.

Ruth returned from the store as the video ended. She raised her eyebrow about the missing man of the hour. Maury shrugged and motioned to their son's closed door.

Brad immediately went into Eddie Haskell mode and offered to help her put away the groceries. As he crossed into the kitchen, Matt stuck his head out and glared at his friend. Maury started to say something, but Matt barely tossed him a dirty look before slamming the door once again.

"We don't slam doors in this house, young man!" Maury yelled at him.

"It's not a house, it's a cheap, run down apartment!" Matt yelled back.

"Don't like it, go find somewhere else to live!" Maury snapped without thinking.

Matt flung his door open and stomped toward the front door. Ruth caught him before he could leave as Maury hustled to get up and follow. "Wait just a minute, Matt!"

Ruth had grabbed her son by the shoulders and held him back. "Boys, please don't fight," she warned them.

"I think I should go," Brad mumbled and slipped out.

Maury pulled out a chair from the table and motioned to it. When he didn't move, Ruth pushed him into it. Maury and Ruth sat to either side as Matt sulked.

"Listen, kid, I said I was sorry before I left and tried to get back as fast as I could," he explained. "I know you're mad, I would be, too."

Matt ignored him.

"I wish there was some way I could make it up to you, but I can't. I can't just turn back time to be there. Believe me, if I could, I would have."

This got a quizzical look of disbelief from Matt.

"When you get older, you're going to realize there are things that you wish you could do, places you want to be, that you can't. It's a fact of life, Matty." Ruth looked on as he fumbled for what to say next. "Do you know I almost missed your birth?" he asked. "Heck, your mother almost missed it to," he chuckled, nodding at Ruth, who sent him a very angry thought. He held up his hand to her, gave a slight shake of his head.

"You're not funny," Matt finally said.

Maury grabbed his son's hand. "I'm not trying to be, I'm trying to be serious, trying to explain how things are, sometimes."

"Then why did you have to miss my ceremony?" he accused.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Matty, I really am," he apologized again. "I-I had to help my friends back east. If it weren't for me, they would have been in a heap of trouble--"

"Liar."

"Matty, please--"

"Liar!" Matt shouted, pulling his hand away.

"Matthew Hiram Parkman, you don't talk to your father like that!" Ruth suddenly shouted.

Matt ignored her, still glaring at his father.

"No, you know what? Let's hear it, Matt. You're a man, now, time to start acting like one and tell me why you're so mad at me."

Matt's lip twitched, but he didn't say anything.

Maury could hear the thoughts jumbling in his head, trying to pick one apart from the rest. "Your mad because I keep leaving you and your mother, is that it?"

Matt gave a half-hearted shrug.

"I don't leave you because I want to, it's because I have to, because of my work," he explained. "Believe me, I'd rather stay here with you, but I've got to pay the bills, son. That involves having to make occasional trips."

"Get a new job," Matt blurted out. "That way, you don't have to leave so much."

Maury regarded his son a moment. "I can't, kiddo," he said with regret. "Believe me, if I could, I would. But no one else can do what I do, because they haven't gone through what I have. Do you understand?"

Matt shook his head.

"Let's just say I hope you never have to go through what I did, so you don't have to do what I do for a living, Matt," he continued.

"Well, what _do_ you do, then?" he asked, confused by his father's words. "You've never really said."

Maury and Ruth exchanged looks. _Do you tell him the truth? _she asked him, mentally.

"I...uh, guess you could say I'm a consultant, Matt. A, uh, special kind of consultant," he said, burying the truth in itself.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

_He's smarter than you think, Maury, s_he thought.

Maury glanced to his wife, then back to his son. "What I said? The things I've gone through? They, uh, make my point of view unique," he replied. "Only a few of us are out there and--"

"Bullshit."

"_Matthew!" _Ruth scolded.

Matt glared at his father.

"You think I'm full of shit? Do you?" he asked, containing his anger. "I wish I could explain it better to you, son, but I can't. I hope I never have to tell you what I've gone through, but what I do is to keep people from going through the same kind of hell I did, when I was your age. Trust me on that, Matty."

"Bullshit! It's all bullshit!" Matt exclaimed. "You're making it up!" He started to get up, but his father grabbed his hand again.

"What I do, I never wanted to do, son," he said, looking Matt square in the eye. "It almost cost my family their lives. My father disappeared, Uncle Ben was almost murdered twice on account of me, as were your grandmother and aunt. Trust me, I hope you never have to find out the whole truth of what I've gone through, boy."

Matt stood defiant, but he could tell his father was telling the truth.

"What I do, I do to protect you," he implored. "I'd give my life to protect you, Matty."

Matt pulled free of his father's grip. He wasn't sure what just happened, but knew their relationship wasn't what it used to be, now. Both looked at each other, silently understanding that.

"What do you say we do something together, tomorrow? Just you and me?"

Matt shrugged.

"Anything you want, Matt."

Matt seemed to mull it over.

Maury stood and pulled the teen to him in a hug. "I love you, boy," he said, kissing Matt's head. "And didn't I ask you to cut this mop?"

-

It was several months later when the call came in. Maury had been zoning out, trying to watch TV as Matt practiced his drums and Ruth tried to hide from the calamity in the bedroom.

Matt crashed his cymbal, shaking his father out of his thoughts. Maury glanced over as Matt pointed to the ringing phone with his drumstick. Maury grabbed the phone and took it in the bedroom. The news was not good.

"What's wrong?" Ruth asked as he hung up.

"Trouble in Odessa. I have to go," he told her. "Everyone's been called in, even Vic."

"That's not what I asked."

"Need to know, only. Sorry," he apologized.

"When do you leave?"

"They already booked me on a flight tomorrow morning. Suzy's catching the red eye out tonight."

"You know he won't like it," she said, motioning to the door.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Neither do I."

-

The next morning, after having dropped Matt off, Maury made his way to LAX. He had some time to kill before his flight, so he grabbed a coffee and read the paper.

He tried to ignore the background buzz places like this always had, but one seemed to keep getting his attention. He glanced around, finally catching a young, lean man in a brown overcoat watching him. He seemed out of sorts, somehow. Almost like he didn't belong.

Maury shrugged it off and returned to his paper. Then a shadow crept up on him. Maury looked up to see the man standing across the table, staring at him. Upon making eye contact, the man's dour expression turned into a lopsided grin.

"Anybody sitting here? Don't mind if I do!" he exclaimed as he took the chair in front of him, sat, and leaned across the table at Maury. "Hello-Hello!" he said, thrusting his hand forward.

Maury slowly took his hand, unable to get a read on this strange man, unsure of what he wanted. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Lots of people know me, but do we really know anyone at all?" he quipped. He glanced around. "Not quite Heathrow, but then, where is, you now?" he mused. "I knew someone that used to work there, once upon a time," he added, as if to himself.

Maury was intrigued and tried to read his mind a little more forcefully. The feedback he received made him recoil.

The man had a mischievous smile. "Yeah, that's not really going to work on me, now is it?" he asked. "Twice as much fun when there's more of me about," he said more to himself. "Just ran into one, we missed the old man, though. You'll have to ask the kid one day." He caught himself, as if he had said too much. He turned sideways and made a show of crossing his legs. "You are Maury Parkman, I presume?"

This made Maury take notice. The man was obviously a Special, but he had to know, "Who are you, and how do you know who I am?"

"Well, let's just say I'm a friend for now, shall we?" he said quickly. "Names are so tedious and a burden. Actually, I _thought_ I was just dealing with you earlier, but then I realized I was in the wrong time and place, you know? No. No, you don't. Never mind all that. As I always say, things have a habit of working themselves out. Do you mind?" He grabbed the paper from Maury, quickly scanning it, muttering "no," "yes," "no-hhh!," and "well, that's just silly!"

His rapid delivery had Maury questioning most of what he just said. "Just dealing with me? Wrong time and place?" he asked before lowering his voice and leaning forward conspiratorially. The man laid the paper down and mirrored him. "You a time traveler? We've discussed them, but never met--"

"I'm a lot of things, Mr. Parkman," he replied. "But I'm not like you. Not in the way you're thinking."

"Then what--?"

The man's eyes suddenly grew wide as he glanced down at the paper. "Hold on! I shouldn't even be talking to you!" he exclaimed, then glanced up. "Well, not today at least. Sorry to bother you. See you later, then?"

With that, the man was up and ran off, brown coat waving behind him. Maury started to follow, but his flight was called as he stood. He grabbed his belongings and gave quick chase after the man into the hallway he disappeared down. There came a grinding noise as he rounded the corner...only to find an empty hall. A phone bank lined one wall, with a door on the near and far side.

A woman stepped out of the far doorway. "Excuse me, miss, you didn't happen to see a young man run in there, just now, did you?"

"What?" she asked. "I should hope not. That's the ladies room, sir." She glanced around before leaving Maury, thinking, _Funny, I could have sworn there was a blue crate out here when I went in?_

Maury took another glance, giving the area a passive scan, but there was no hint of the feedback he felt with the man, earlier. A mystery for another day, he thought as he hurried to catch his flight.

-

Maury happened upon newly arrived Daniel Linderman at the Midland airport. "Are we riding together?" Maury asked his friend.

"If you'd like," the healer replied. "In fact, if you want to wait, I believe Victoria is just arriving as well."

"Any ideas why Arthur wants us all together? Especially if he had to call Vic down, too?"

"Not a clue," Daniel replied, "but it must be big, as she made it clear she didn't want to do anything with us unless it was extremely important."

The men chatted as they headed to Victoria's gate, greeted and collected the hesitant redhead (explaining they had just arrived as well), then the trio made their way to a cab and PrimaTech.

They found they were the last to arrive. Arthur was not happy, and even less so upon learning the last three had time to discuss why they had been summoned.

He regarded the group coolly, taking in each member in turn as he began his speech. Maury and Charles could feel him reaching out, telepathically scanning everyone as he spoke.

"When this endeavor began, there were only a handful of you. You sought out and recruited the rest of those assembled by chance or happenstance. Among other ways." Angela gave her husband a dirty look. He ignored it.

"When I was brought into your circle of trust after several years of thinking it was just one of my wife's 'social clubs', you revealed to me that I had an ability like the rest of you, and a destiny to protect our own kind."

Several around the table nodded, still somewhat confused.

"There was a certain level of trust amongst us. A trust that has been abused and broken." He glanced around the group of eleven men and women before him. "You trusted Adam to show you how to go about finding and protecting our kind. In turn, he was already plotting our world's destruction." He let this sink in for a moment before continuing.

"We managed to contain him, but at the cost of losing the trust of another one of our valuable members, Victoria." He motioned to her, Angela took her hand, but her face remained stoic. "On that day, our trust was broken. We started second guessing our selves and our motives. Plotting behind each others' backs."

"What exactly are you saying, Arthur?" Daniel interrupted.

"What I'm saying is, another of our group has fallen away from our main objective, finding and protecting others like us. They are set to betray the rest of this group at a moment's notice."

A slight murmur ran through the group. Arthur raised his hand for quiet.

"After the incident with Adam a few years back, our plans to employ others like us to help locate others was expanded to employ a new tactic, 'One of Us, One of Them'. To that end, we hired several non-abilitied personnel we believed we could trust. It is one of these people who discovered the evidence of this foul plot by one of the people in this room, today."

"I take it you have someone in mind, then?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, but to make sure, I asked Victoria to attend this meeting to act as a lie detector. She's been away and has cut nearly all ties with this group in her absence. I believe that with her help, we can flush this, shall we say, 'Trojan Horse' out in the open."

Maury spoke up. "The three of us are telepaths, surely we could figure out who the traitor is?"

"Yes, but we each also disrupt the other two," Arthur replied. "If one of us was the person in question, the other two would be unable to tell. We'd be back to square one."

"How do we know you're not the traitor, Arthur?" Susan asked. "After all, you were pretty loyal to Adam."

"That's a good question, and I will be submitting myself to the same series of questions I am asking you to take."

"Would you care to share the name of this mystery sleuth?" Paula asked. "How do we know he's not faking this as a power play, a mole or counter-agent sent to destroy the Company?"

"Another good question, Paula," he replied and held up a folder. "And I have our informant's information here, including dates, times, and photos which are pretty damning in themselves. I am merely doing this as a formality, to give the accused a chance to explain themselves."

"How do you know the accused is really the accused?" Victoria asked. "We've encountered shape-shifters before."

"When the traitor is revealed, I will take their ability, leaving them unable to defend themselves should they seek retribution."

Startled glances were shared around the room. Arthur held his hands up as several nervous questions began.

"I assure you, this is not a ploy to gain more power, my friends. I can only ask you to trust me on that." He stepped to the wall cabinet and grabbed a decorative fishbowl half-filled with colored stones and a stack of slips of paper. "In fact, I have put all our names, including myself and Victoria, and put them in here, where they will be drawn randomly. I will let Victoria draw the first, that person will draw the next and so on. The bowl will remain out here, so you all can watch it together. The three of us will step into the next room so there will be no eavesdropping on the questions. That goes double for you two, Charles and Maury."

Quiet chatter as everyone seemed to agree that was fair.

"Everyone is in agreement? Let's begin." He set the bowl in front of Victoria, who fished around and then drew a slip of paper.

"Kaito," she read off, glancing to their Japanese associate.

Kaito promptly stood and followed Arthur into the next room, allowing Victoria to enter ahead of him.

The remaining nine silently glanced around, exchanging questioning looks.

"I sure hope this is his idea of a trust exercise," Daniel noted. Charles chuckled, and looked from Maury to Angela. Her eyes remained fixed on the door.

A few moments later, a slightly disgruntled Kaito emerged and strode to the fishbowl, drawing the next slip of paper.

"Angela," he read, nodding to her.

Angela stood, nodded to Kaito, straightened her dress and stepped toward the door where Arthur stood, waiting.

"Just a moment," Harry spoke up. "Angela's your wife, and she's the main connection to Victoria yet, shouldn't we have a fourth for her, to make sure you play fair?"

"Fair enough," Arthur replied. "Would you rather Kaito return or pull the next name? I remind you, the next person would also have a few minutes to formulate their replies. That is, if I ask the same questions."

Charles spoke up. "I think it fair that Kaito remains as an impartial witness. Anyone disagree?"

"Either that, or she waits her turn and goes last," Harry replied.

"I don't mind if Kaito sits in, if that's alright with him and Arthur?" Angela said.

"And if there is more than one and they are in collusion?" Maury asked.

"When I show you the evidence, it will speak for itself in that there is only one Judas in this room, Parkman," Arthur said coldly.

At this, a few turned to look at Maury questioningly, who was only puzzled by the vitriol of the comment.

"Just throwing it out there, is all," he said. "Go ahead, Ang, we'll all be waiting out here."

Angela gave him a stern look as she entered the room with her husband and former lover. Kaito closed the door behind him.

The rest of the group waited silently until the door opened and Angela strode with determination to the fishbowl and pulled the next name. "Charles," she said, but gave Maury a scornful look as she took her seat once more. Maury gave her a concerned look as Kaito and Charles passed behind him. Her silence gave no clue as to their discussions.

As Charles reached the door, Maury spoke up. "Anyone care if I run to the men's room, real quick?" He glanced around the table before looking to Charles and Arthur. "Want me to take a bathroom buddy, just in case?" he chuckled.

Arthur regarded him a moment. "Fine. Daniel go with him. Anyone else?"

As the others shook their heads, Daniel rose and asked in mock protest, "Why me? What did I do?"

"Come on, Danny," Maury said lightly, already leaving the room. _Nothing you ain't seen before_, he mentally joked.

When they arrived in the men's room, Maury headed for the urinal to do his business. He turned to see Daniel had joined him. "Any thoughts?"

"Eyes on your own prize?"

Maury chuckled. "No, I mean, is this a trust exercise, or do you really think someone's making a move, power play or whatever?"

"I've known Arthur longer than anyone except Angela," he replied. "He's always got his own agenda. We'll find out what's going on when it's our turn." He flushed and zipped up. "Why? Do you have anything to confess, Maury?"

Maury hesitated, zipping up and thinking of the secrets he kept. "I'm not the one making a power play, Danny, if that's what you mean. There are things I've done I'm not proud of, but I don't have the urge to strike out on my own, you know?"

"Really? Like what?"

"Not so fast, Danny," Maury chuckled as he washed his hands. "We all have our own secrets to keep."

"And miles to go before we sleep," he replied as they strode the hall back to the others, stifling their chuckles as they reentered the conference room. No sooner had they taken their seats than the other door opened and Charles exited.

He stood before the fishbowl and pulled the next slip. "Daniel," he said as he glanced to the healer.

As Daniel Linderman started to rise again, Maury spoke up. "Weren't you just saying you've known Arthur longer than anyone, excepting Angela?"

Daniel stopped and looked at Maury, then to Arthur. "Same rule? Charles returns or pull the next name?"

Charles looked to Maury, questioning his ploy. Maury held up his hands, "Hey, fair is fair. Those two admit to meeting on a top secret military mission, so does anyone disagree that he shouldn't be given a witness like Angie had?"

The others had to agree this was fair, and Charles didn't mind going back in, so he followed the healer back into the side office. Angela regarded Maury again for a moment, then turned her attention back out the window.

The others were beginning to grow bored. Susan and Paula began playing tic-tac-toe on a notepad to pass the time at this point, as Harry and Carlos doodled on theirs. Maury let his mind wander back to his morning encounter at LAX, still confused about what that man wanted. Surely it wasn't about this, was it?

The door opened again and Charles and Daniel exited, Daniel headed to the fishbowl and drew the next name. "Maury," he said simply. Both men gave him passive glances as they took their seats. Maury slowly stood and entered the office where Arthur and Victoria waited.

Two chairs sat turned slightly to each other, Victoria in one, in front of the desk. Arthur took the chair behind the desk as he motioned to Maury to take the empty one. Maury did as he was told.

"Give me your hand, Maury," she instructed, holding hers out.

Maury nervously wiped his hand on his slacks before doing so. He turned to Arthur. "So, what's going on?"

Arthur opened the folder in front of him and held up a sketch. Maury recognized it as the one Carlos had drawn the night they went after Samson Gray. The man who had caused him to miss his son's Bar Mitzvah. He noticed it was different than what he had remembered, more faces had been added.

"Do you recognize this?" Arthur asked.

"Looks like one of Carlos'," why?"

"How many people in this sketch do you recognize?"

"Well, um, it looks like Gray, then Carlos, you, Angie, me, and Kaito on top," he replied. "We were thinking it was Gray's son, then Isaac, your boys and mine, then, uh, Kaito's son, um, Hero?"

"No one else?"

"No sir, I don't recognize the others," he said noting the blonde girl and two boys branching off Nathan, nor the children branching off Peter, Matt or Kaito. He was glad to see Matt's kids, silently hoping he would raise them oblivious to this life. Two other light sketches were above his line. One (purposefully?) smeared face above his and another unfinished faint sketch somewhat above Arthur, which looked vaguely familiar.

Maury examined his progeny for a minute before Arthur distracted him with another question. A girl, a boy, two more boys that had conjoined heads (Maury hoped regular twins, not 'Siamese' twins), and another girl. He hoped Matt surely wasn't overcompensating for being an only child?

"Who is 'we'?"

"Well, Carlos drew that when we went after Gray," he explained. "So he, myself, and Kaito had seen the--well, it seems now, the unfinished work that night."

"Anyone else?"

"Not that I know of?"

Arthur folded the sketch and grabbed another sheet. "What do you know of this?"

Maury examined the list he was handed. "It appears to be an inventory of some sort? I don't know what it's of?"

"It's an inventory alright," Arthur replied, grabbing the next paper. "It's a list of items in the vaults that have gone missing in recent months."

"M-missing? How is that possible?"

"Please empty your pockets, Maury."

Victoria released his hand as Maury stood and did as he was told. Arthur grabbed the money clip he laid on the desk. "What's this?"

"Bob gave that clip to me, well, I already had the clip, he just turned it to gold one day when we had lunch as a 'thank you', I guess."

"When was this?"

"I don't know, couple years back? It's been a while."

Arthur grunted and tossed the clip down. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

Maury slipped the clip back into his pocket and sat down again. Victoria took his hand once more. They locked eyes for a second, both thinking the same thing: they had another secret to share, but were sworn to secrecy. Victoria gave a slight signal to him, thinking, _she didn't say anything._

Maury could have sworn he felt a slight mental tickle as she said this, as from interference...or someone listening in.

"Well?" Arthur prompted, having decided he had given his compatriot long enough.

"I don't think I have anything else to share of relevance concerning the Company at this time," he replied.

"Daniel says you claim we all have our own secrets to keep?"

"That is true."

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing that isn't relative to the Company."

"What about your son's visits to Dr. Zimmerman?"

"What about them?" he asked in quiet anger.

"You're refusing to let him give your son the Formula."

Maury could feel his anger rising. "I've made it clear my son is to have no contact with this Company, Arthur! It's bad enough you insisted I let that quack near him, but I won't let you experiment on my son!"

"It's common knowledge to the Group I injected Nathan with the Formula. Why not let Matthew take it?"

Victoria flinched and turned in horror at Arthur's revelation. "what?" she whispered under her breath.

Maury replied in controlled tones. "I'm not you, Arthur. I won't treat my children like some damn science experiment. Especially with Zimmerman."

"Why is that?"

"You know damn well, why. He was at Coyote Sands. He tested me, your wife, our friends." Maury knew he was being played, now. "I was against tracking him down in the first place. You all insisted what he learned from Coyote would only help us. You were wrong."

"Wrong how?"

"Dammit, Arthur! He's a fucking Nazi!"

"We wouldn't have traveled to the moon without former Nazi's like him."

"Maybe that would be for the best, then," he snarled.

Arthur regarded him for a long moment. "Alright then. You don't want your son to see Zimmerman again, you don't have to."

"Fine, thank you," he replied, trying to regain his composure.

"One more thing. He says he's given you files, which you claim you're giving to me, but I never see them."

Maury was dumbfounded. "Everything he's given to me, I have turned over to you, Arthur. I swear."

"Are you sure?"

"I made him turn over files on his own kids. I gave those files to you. Of course I'm sure."

"Are you willing to swear on your family's life?"

Maury's blood went cold. "What did you say?"

"Are you willing to swear to this on your family's life?"

"You leave my family out of this, Petrelli. This is your only warning," he said sternly.

Arthur considered his reaction. "Fair enough. We're done."

As Maury rose, Victoria gave his hand a squeeze. He could see the fear in her eyes from what just happened. He nodded to her and left the room.

As he exited, the others looked up. Several noticed his anger as he went to the fishbowl and drew the next name. "Bob," he said curtly and went to the hall door. "Excuse me, I'll be right back."

Charles and Daniel exchanged glances before the other telepath rose and followed his friend to the bathroom again. He found Maury washing his face at the sink and quietly sobbing.

"Are you alright?" Charles asked in his soothing voice.

Maury turned to face his friend. "I don't know what the hell he asked you, but that bastard threatened my family!"

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, Charles, you've helped me enough. If it comes down to it, Ruth knows what to do. All I ask is that you help her if she needs it. Hide Matty. Do whatever it takes to keep him away from this."

"I'll do what I can, Maury."

"That's the one promise I made when he was born, Charles," he confessed. "And I will keep that promise even if it means I have to give my life to protect his!"

"I understand, Maury," he said and pulled his friend into a hug. "As a father, myself, and as your friend, believe me, I understand."

Charles gave him a moment to pull together before they both returned to the conference room. He caught Angela giving him a concerned glance, which he returned with a grimace.

Bob exited the inner office and Arthur followed him out, chuckling. Daniel caught Maury's eye as he sat down, he shook his head.

"Paula," Bob called out before taking his seat. Daniel jerked his head at their younger member and smirked, Maury ignored him.

He turned his thoughts inward, wondering what was really going on. Arthur was obviously playing favorites, with himself and Kaito seemingly taking the brunt of it. Several of them knew about Angela and Kaito's relationship, Arthur included, but only Victoria and Adam were really aware of what he did with Angela 14 years earlier. And no one had talked to Adam, had they? He was still locked up in Hartsdale, wasn't he? Then again, Arthur had been Adam's biggest supporter of the group and lived nearby in Manhattan, surely he hadn't--?

Paula calling "Susan" broke him out of his reverie for a moment. He locked eyes with Angela again. A bare curl of the lip. _I'm sorry_, he thought to her. She turned to look out the window once more. He sighed and rubbed his face in frustration.

When Susan came out, Harry and Carlos shared a nervous look as she pulled the last of the two slips out. "Harry." He nodded to the rest and left the table. Carlos gave everyone a nervous nod. Maury returned a dark stare. He wondered what Arthur had seen in that drawing that he hadn't?

Harry eventually came out and returned to his seat. There was no need to call Carlos' name. He rose and started to head for the door.

"You've been doodling?" Arthur asked. Carlos stopped and nodded. "Bring it," he said and turned back to the office. Carlos did as he was told and entered the office, shutting the door.

"Well, can we talk about it, yet?" Daniel asked. Several nervous glances were exchanged. "Right then, I didn't think so," he mused. They sat in silence for a few minutes until the door opened.

All turned, expecting to see Carlos, but found Victoria standing there, instead. She didn't say anything as she took her seat from earlier. Arthur came out as she sat.

"I have what I need, you're all dismissed."

Confused looks were shared.

"What do you mean?" Maury asked. "Where's Carlos?"

"He and I have other matters to discuss. Go home. All of you."

"I think Maury has a point, Arthur," Daniel spoke up. "We'd like to know Carlos is fine before we leave him to your tender mercies." It sounded like a threat, and from the way Daniel locked eyes with Arthur, many guessed it most likely was.

"Very well," he replied. "Carlos?"

Their Hispanic companion appeared behind Arthur, slightly shaken. "Are you alright?" Paula asked.

He forced a smile. "Si. Si, I am fine," he stammered. No one believed him. "It was just--what I drew while waiting? I didn't really look at it until Arthur asked to see it. I did not expect to see--"

"What he drew has shed a new light on things today," Arthur interrupted. "I understand what has happened in a new perspective. It was not what I thought, and I apologize to all of you for causing a ruckus."

Maury and Charles glanced to Angela, who was studying her husband shrewdly. She wasn't buying his story.

Daniel inquired, "I don't suppose you'd care to share this discovery?"

Arthur studied his army buddy for a moment. "Not at this time, no. Things have been in motion, and even calling you all down here may have upset events that need to transpire."

"Then we came down here for nothing?" Susan asked.

Arthur glanced to Maury and Kaito. "Not all of you. Other matters were discussed."

"Then we are done here?" Maury inquired.

"I've already given you my answer," he said sharply before returning to the office with Carlos. Bob suddenly rose and followed.

As the others slowly rose and made their way out, not really talking, Angela, Charles, Daniel and Maury remained behind. "You'll keep us apprised, Angela?" Daniel asked.

She nodded. Daniel and Charles took their leave. Maury stood near the door, glancing to the other door to make sure they had a moment. "Ang..."

She held up a hand. "Don't. You know the agreement."

Maury smiled. "He's a handful, headstrong and smarter than I could ever give him credit for."

"Maury, don't," she warned.

"Did you see the sketch Carlos drew?" he asked.

She turned away.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," he grumbled and started to leave.

"He's a handsome boy, Maury," she quickly said.

He turned back to face her. A brief twitch of a smile.

Maury smiled. "Yeah. Yeah he is, Ang."

No sooner had he left than a young voice asked. "You still want me to keep an eye on 'im?"

"No. What I want you to do now is erase all trace of his son in the Company files. Start with Zimmerman's office."

"That shouldn't be too hard."

"No one knows but us, Claude."

Silence from the now empty room was her only answer.

tbc_________


	7. 1981 Exodus

**HEROES: Exodus**

**Characters: Maury, Matt, surprise guest stars**

**Disclaimer: I own nuttink! Just playing with Tim Kring's intellectual copyrighted toys.**

**-**

**Midland, TX, 1981**

Several of the Company Founders found they would not have an immediate flight out that evening, so several decided to make a party of it at the local hotel. Charles, Carlos, Daniel, Victoria, Susan, and Maury met in the bar for drinks, where Maury pulled Carlos aside.

"You never said you finished that drawing," he questioned the precognitive.

"I apologize," he replied. "I did not get a chance to finish it until we had returned home, and when I tried to send it to you through the Hartsdale office, Arthur intercepted it," he explained. "I did not know until today what he did."

"Come on, Carlos, you know he's a control freak," Maury scolded him.

"I am sorry, my friend, I did not mean for anyone else to see it."

Maury started to say something, but thought better of it. "No, I know it's not right to be mad at you for something you had no control over," he said. "But you should have seen it coming," he winked.

It took Carlos a moment to realize the telepath was joking, before they both laughed about it. "Come on, first round's on me!" he said, leading them back to their friends. Daniel was already putting the moves on Victoria, who was trying to ignore him by talking to Susan and Charles.

The next morning, they all had hangovers, but agreed to see Charles, Carlos, and Victoria off to their New York connection the next morning, as Maury, Susan, and Daniel would be catching a later flight back to Los Angeles. The sextet checked out and decided to catch breakfast at the Burnt Toast Diner at Daniel's suggestion. He was flirting with the waitress from the moment they walked in.

"Hello, my dear," he greeted Lynnette as the others took their seats.

"I thought I told you to never come back here again?" she scolded him before allowing him to give her a warm hug.

"I seem to recall you begging me for something else?" he teased as Victoria gave him a dark look.

"You were the one offering to give me a life of luxury in Vegas, I seem to recall?" she reminded him as she handed out menus to the group.

"You said you found it tacky?" The others chuckled amongst themselves at the exchange.

"I said I found you tacky, sweetheart," she shot back. "Besides, I'm a small town girl. I don't go for that big city life."

"You break my heart, my dear," he replied, kissing her hand.

"I'll break your hand if you don't give it back," she scolded him, pulling out her order pad.

"You wound me," he continued to tease as the others began to order.

"It is tempting, isn't it?" she teased back with a sly grin. "What would you like this morning?"

"You?" he replied, but she gave him a stern look of disbelief. "Alright then, Eggs Florentine?"

"I don't think Billy knows that one, hon."

"I'd be delighted to show him, how," he replied.

"And you cook, too?" she asked. "Well, wonders never cease. Especially since you didn't cook breakfast for me."

Several at the table chuckled. Daniel ignored them. "You didn't give me the chance," he smiled.

"There's a reason for that," she said and turned back to the counter.

Daniel eyed his chuckling companions, but turned to the one staring him daggers. "It was just one night, it didn't mean that much to either of us," he insisted.

"No, I guess it didn't," Victoria replied coldly.

The other four wisely decided not to ask as Lynnette brought the first round of coffee. By the time the food had arrived, the group had a good conversation going, but soon realized half of them had to hurry back to the airport to catch their flight.

Charles insisted on getting the check, but Lynnette insisted it was on Daniel. They all had a good laugh at that as they took their leave, Daniel promising to call her. She didn't believe him.

It wasn't until they were in the air themselves that Maury and Susan decide to gang up on Daniel, inquiring about what happened with Victoria the night before.

"It was nothing, just a drunken fling between old friends," he insisted.

Maury and Susan exchanged looks, he smiled as she found herself blushing.

"What? What did I miss?" Daniel now inquired of them.

_I'll tell you later if you tell me later_, Maury teased mentally. Daniel could barely control the laughter. Susan kicked Maury's shin, he laughed it off.

As they arrived, Maury said he had to hit the head before he gathered their bags. Daniel agreed and followed.

As they neared the hallway where the restrooms were located, Maury could swear he heard a familiar grinding noise. Turning the corner, he stopped as the man from the other morning stood near a large blue crate.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" he asked.

"You're back?"

The man looked over his shoulder. "What? Is there something on it?" he asked, mildly perplexed.

Maury pointed at him. "You, inside," he said, pointing at the bathroom before motioning to his friend. "Danny, stand guard, we should only be a few minutes."

Daniel gave his friend a quizzical look. "Something I should know about?"

"Probably not," Maury replied, ushering the young man inside. They waited a moment as he mentally ushered the two men in there already to hurry out, double-checking they were alone. "Now, what's this about?" he asked, turning back to the man only to find a young woman standing there as well. "Who are you?" he asked. "You shouldn't even be in here."

"Pardon? Who are you talking to?" the man asked, following Maury's gaze.

Maury glanced between the pair. "You can't see her?"

She smiled as the man inquired, "Her? Who do you see?"

"He can't see me, only you can" she replied.

"Who are you lady?" he asked again.

She smiled and glanced to the other, confused, man. "A friend," she replied. "Actually, that's not entirely true, someone who's closer than a friend, but I can say no more than that."

"Another time traveler?" he asked, motioning to the second man, now getting annoyed.

"What? What?" he asked, incredulously.

"I am many things," she replied. "But all in due time, Maury Parkman. I have a mission for you."

"A mission?"

"Hold on, now," the mystery man interrupted. "I'm the one who has a mission for him, not you, whoever or whatever you are!" he declared, talking to what he perceived as empty space in front of Maury. He fumbled a pair of 3D glasses out of his coat and put them on, looking around.

She found this amusing, but turned back to Maury. "You have a destiny, Maury, as does your son."

"Destiny? What?"

"Now hold on! That's _my job_!" the man exclaimed.

"I am sorry, Maury, I cannot tell you more, other than you must leave your family--"

"_NO!" _he protested. "I won't! You can't make me!"

"Won't what?" the second man asked. "What's she saying?"

"For his protection, for his Destiny, you must leave them today," she told him.

"I can't!" Maury protested again. "I promised Matty I would--"

"You have to, Maury," she said. "This must be done. He will understand when the time is right."

"He'll hate me for it."

"Yes, and that hate will drive him to do much good in this world."

"I-I don't understand?"

"I am sorry, this is how it must be."

"I can't! I can't leave him, the Company, they'll--"

"They will do nothing," she replied. "Events are in motion that will ensure that. You must leave your son so he may do what needs be done. It is his Destiny."

"Destiny? My leaving him is his destiny?"

"What? What's she going on about?" the other man asked, now waving around what Maury took to be a buzzing light pen, trying to find this mystery woman.

"I am sorry, Maury, it must be done," she said again before stepping up to him and kissing him on the cheek. "You will come to understand, but also know you can not contact him directly after today until it is time."

Maury had tears in his eyes, now. "I-I can't--but I must, is that it?"

She smiled. "You feel the truth in your heart."

"I-I know you, don't I?" he asked her.

"Not yet, but you will." she turned to leave, but laid her hand on the other man's for a moment.

"Oh," he said in disbelief. "It's _you_. I'm sorry, I didn't know--"

"Come, it is time we left. Time grows short."

"Only for some of us," he said in a daze before turning back to Maury. "Yes, well, it was nice meeting you, Mr. Parkman. I hope our paths never cross again."

"Wait, what?"

"She was right, so you'd better listen to whatever she told you," he said grabbing the door handle. "Until next time, which would be, ah, never," he quipped jovially, and with that, he swept out the door.

Maury ran out after him, but only found a slightly bored Daniel Linderman waiting.

"Did you see anyone run out?" he asked.

"Run out of what?"

"Run out the door just now!"

"No? Just you, Maury," he replied.

Maury glanced around, but saw no one and nothing else amiss. He could swear he was forgetting something.

"Are you okay, Maury?"

Maury hesitated. It had seemed so real, but the conversation was fading like a dream, already. He still knew what he had to do. "No. No, I'm not," he replied. "Listen, I have a big favor to ask of you, Daniel," he said.

Linderman cocked his head in curiosity.

-

"Are you sure?" Ruth asked.

"I am sorry, honey, but it has to be done," he replied.

"But why? Why _now_?" she cried.

"I can't tell you why, but know this is the hardest thing I'll ever do, Ruthie."

"What do I tell Matt? He's going to want to know."

Maury hesitated as he packed his belongings. "Tell him--tell him I'm sorry, but it wasn't his fault," he said, feeling the tears well up. "Tell him I love him and I'd stay if I could, but this has to be done. Tell him...he doesn't have to see that fucking doctor any more."

"Maybe I'll tell him you're running away with some young thing you met on one of your trips?" she said angrily.

He stopped and hugged her to him. "No, don't lie to him, but I can't tell you the truth, either. I'm not entirely sure of that, myself." He kissed her.

"I hate you for this," she said. "He'll hate you."

This caught his attention. Maury looked her in the eye. "Good, let him hate me, just don't let it eat him up inside," he told her.

"How long will you be gone? Will you ever come back?" she asked.

"I can't."

"You can't say?"

He turned away and grabbed his suitcases. "No, I can't come back. Not while he's here," he told her. "If something happens--"

"Don't--"

"If something happens, you know how to contact Danny and Charles. They will help you. Anything you need. Whatever, whenever." He kissed her again.

"Maury, please," she begged. "Don't leave me. Don't leave us."

He turned to her. "I don't want to, but I have to. I'm sorry."

"It's too dangerous!" she pleaded.

"I have to," he replied again as he started to leave the bedroom when the front door opened.

"Maury, please don't go," she begged again.

He stopped and stared at his son. "Matty?" Damn.

Matt gave him a dirty look. He could feel the anger rising as he heard this last exchange. "Matty, I'm sorry, I have to go away again."

"Maury, please," Ruth called after her husband, crying.

Matt could tell his father was really upset. He glanced behind the man to see his mother gripping the bedroom door. "What did you do to her?" he accused.

Maury was taken aback. "Matty--? I'm sorry, I have to go."

He reached for his son, but Matt pulled back.

He paused to kneel before his son. "Matty, you may not understand now, but I hope you can forgive me later."

Matt glared at him, accusing eyes making Maury wish he could hide them all away for their own safety. He stood, hung his head in shame, and put his free hand in his pocket. He felt the money clip. He tried to recall how much it was, at least a hundred, hundred and twenty? The clip itself was gold, thanks to Bob Bishop's power. It wasn't much, but it was all he had on him at the moment. He flicked the clip off the bills with his thumb.

He stood up. "Fine, Matt, hate me for doing this, then," he said as he shoved the bills into Matt's front shorts pocket and patted him on the head. Matt didn't feel his father's lips brush through his hair. Maury was then pushing past his son into the hall. "I'll be in touch if I can," he called over his shoulder.

Matt ignored this and stood holding the doorknob until he heard his father's heavy footsteps disappear. He locked teary eyes with his mother. He found himself running to her and they hugged until they were cried out.

Maury went down to the street where Daniel was waiting. "All set?" he asked as Maury threw his suitcases in the backseat.

"I'm not evil for doing this, am I?" he asked, settling into the passenger seat.

"You're asking me? You won't even tell me what's going on, Maury," he replied, pulling back onto Parthenia.

"Just--just stop asking questions and get me to the office. I need a few things there, Danny."

An hour later, Maury Parkman found himself rifling through Dr. Zimmerman's office, searching for his and his son's files. "Where the hell are they?" he muttered to himself.

"Looking for these?" a young British voice said out of nowhere.

Maury spun around. "Who's there?" he demanded.

A small stack of files appeared out of thin air, dropping onto Zimmerman's desk. "Someone who was sent after your files, Mr. Parkman."

"You're that new kid, aren't you?" Maury asked, glancing around the room. "The invisible boy?"

A seventeen year old man suddenly appeared. "Guilty as charged."

"What are you doing with my files?" Maury asked him.

"I was told to destroy them."

"By who? Arthur?"

"That blowhard? Please," he replied, dropping into the thick leather chair.

"No, you don't work for Arthur, you work for--?" Then he realized what was going on. "She wanted you to destroy these files? Why?"

"I didn't ask, but it probably had something to do with yesterday's big pow-wow in Odessa," he replied.

"You were there?"

"Yes and no," he said. "Yes, I was there. No, I was not able to sneak into the interrogation chamber."

"So you don't have any idea what's going on, either?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, now. I did see the sketches your Hispanic friend was doodling."

"What were they?" Maury asked. "Please, I need to know."

"Why do you think they involved you, eh?"

"Please, was it about me? My son?"

"Honestly? I don't know," he replied. "It looked to me like New York City, but I haven't seen too much of it, to be honest."

Maury was growing impatient. "Alright then, just try to picture what you saw in your mind--"

"Hold up, mate," Claude cautioned. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I need to see what you saw, please," he begged.

"Alright, but only what I saw yesterday?" Maury nodded. "Alright, then," he said as he opened his mind, concentrating on the sketches.

Maury could make out the rooftop of Charles' building in the center of the page, identified by it's unique stone window on the ledge. Several groups of people had gathered there. A dozen quickly sketched figures were grouped together, half of the faces replaced by a jagged line. Two men were making a hand off while a clock-faced figure watched to the left of the group. To the right, two men battling with swords or sticks as two more seemed to be fighting on the ground, but this last seemed to be unfinished. These three images were distinctly separate, but all appeared to take place at the same location.

Then the focus of the sketches seemed to move up the page. Two men in a stand off in front of a mushroom cloud. Maury gasped and broke the link.

"Not exactly rainbows and kittens, is it?" the teen asked.

"Did she see it?" he demanded to know.

"Sorry?"

"Did she see it?" he asked again, fear rising in his voice.

"Not unless he showed it to her, later," Claude replied. "I left right after your little exchange. That's when she told me to come here, get all of your files and destroy them."

Maury's head swam. She had warned them as far back as the Camp. Her nightmares were yet to happen.

"Tell her--tell her mission accomplished," he said, grabbing the folders, double-checking he had Matt's medical records.

"What if she wants proof?"

"You're destroying files, idiot, you won't have any proof other than your word."

"What about the hard drives?" he asked.

"You didn't erase them?"

"Didn't know the password, mate," he replied, gesturing to the computer. "I already tried a couple before you came in." He turned the monitor on, showing the blinking cursor asking for the correct password. "I tried the obvious, wife, kids, birthdays--"

"Paperclip. Coyote," Maury said.

Claude typed them in. "Denied. Denied" The second seemed to pause a moment before denying access.

"Coyote Sands."

No sooner than Claude had hit enter, the screen lit up, displaying various files. "Bingo." The pair spent the next hour deleting any trace of Maury and his family they could find.

"Thank you, Claude, you've been a real help to me."

"As long as we don't get busted, that is."

"I can cover your tracks here," Maury offered.

"Hold on, now, mate," Claude protested, but the next thing he knew, he was in a Las Vegas motel room with a hangover the next morning, wondering how he got there.

"What do you think he's going to tell her?" Daniel Linderman asked his friend as they watched the man on the hidden room camera.

"As far as he's concerned, he did his job alone and decided to celebrate," Maury answered him.

"What are you going to do, now?"

"Ask for a transfer to Odessa, tell Arthur Ruth had enough of my constant trips and filed for divorce."

"You're going to work for Arthur?"

Maury hesitated. "He threatened my family, Danny. I'm hoping this protects them." _Him._

"Are you ever going to tell me why you're really doing this?"

"Hell, Danny, I don't know why _I'm_ doing this," he replied. "I just know it has to be done." _For Matty._

"What did you see in those drawings?"

Maury Parkman looked Daniel Linderman in the eye. "Revelation. Revolution. Damnation."

Daniel raised his glass. "Well then, here's to our damnation."

Maury never told him the other thing he saw: Salvation.

tbc-----------


End file.
